Teenager sentenced to 14 months behind bars after stabbing Tewkesbury schoolteacher
A 15 year old teenager had already admitted to attempted grievous bodily harm
Last updated 28th Sep 2023
A teenager has been sentenced to 14 months detention at Bristol Magistrates Court after stabbing a Tewkesbury schoolteacher back in July.
The 15 year old, who can't be named due to legal reasons, admitted to attempted grievous bodily harm.
He was also given a training order and a restraining order not to approach the teacher .
Early that morning (10 July), Firearm officers responded to a serious incident after Welsh schoolteacher, Jamie Sansom, was stabbed.
Two nearby schools also shut their doors as a precaution, until the defendant was arrested 5 miles away in Stokes Orchard.
Mr Sansom was left with a 1cm wound to the abdomen and taken to hospital. He was discharged on the same day and said he was "recovering well".
Imposing a 14-month detention and training order, District Judge Lynne Matthews told the defendant: "You were not acting impulsively.
"You took the face covering to school, you took the knife to school.
"You told a friend what was going to happen and you told the emergency services.
"Nothing strikes me about it that was impulsive."
The judge said he would serve half the sentence in custody with the remainder at home working with the youth offending team.
Roddy Gosden, Superintendent for the Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Local Policing Area, said: "This was a hugely traumatic incident, especially for Mr Sansom, but also the school, pupils, parents and wider community.
"I want to thank the staff at the school for their fast actions on the day and the assistance they gave our officers in bringing the situation to a swift conclusion.
"We all want the boy to get the support he needs to ensure he never does anything like this again and can go on to contribute positively to society.
"However the repercussions of this incident do demonstrate the impact using a knife can have and it was luck, rather than judgement, that meant the victim wasn't seriously hurt that day.
"We continue to work with the school and local agencies to learn any lessons from what happened here and to address the broader concerns around knife crime with our partners."