SWINDON'S headteachers say there is no need to increase security in schools following a report into the murder of a schoolboy who was stabbed by a classmate.

Luke Walmsley, 14, was stabbed through the heart by fellow pupil Alan Pennell, in the corridor of Birkbeck School in North Somercotes, Lincolnshire, on November 4, 2003.

His killer was sentenced to life imprisonment last July and yesterday an independent inquiry released a report, which stated his death could not have been prevented.

But Luke's parents, Jayne and Paul Walmsley, say more should be done to stop youngsters from carrying knives into school.

Swindon's headteachers agree that there should be good security in schools but they believe this should not be increased to include searching pupils, using metal detectors or stationing police officers on site.

Steve Flavin, the headteacher of Churchfields School, said: "Churchfields School in its recent Ofsted inspection was praised for being a secure and safe site.

"We have a perimeter fence that goes around the whole site and there is going to be CCTV installed in April at each entrance to the school.

"There is already CCTV inside the school.

"It's easy to track any student from one end of the school to the other.

"We do have a very clear behaviour policy that extends to possession of offensive weapons.

"We had one occasion when a boy bought a knife into school two years ago.

"But it was a fishing knife that he wanted to show to his friends.

"It was confiscated and his parents were informed.

"A boy was permanently excluded from the school in 2001 for bringing a knife into the school.

"It will happen from time to time in a schools there is always that risk.

"But we have been praised for the level of supervision we have and it's one of the reason we don't have a problem with this.

"I would recommend that schools invest extensively in CCTV but it's impractical to search all students."

Len Spiers, the headteacher of Bradon Forest School, says he has experienced the problem of children with knives during his teaching career.

He said: "This is a matter of great concern though locally not so much.

"In this situation I have had no cause for concern but when I worked in London I did have a child who came into school carrying a knife.

"We called in the police and involved his parents.

"In my previous headship in Gloucestershire, I excluded a child for bringing a knife into school.

"If ever a knife was found on a pupil we would take swift action and the parents would become involved.

"There are some schools where police officers are allocated on site but I don't think there is a need for this at Bradon Forest."

Elizabeth Cooper, the headteacher of Ridgeway School, in Woughton, said: "I agree that security should be a high priority in schools. At The Ridgeway School it is and it is regularly reviewed by governors."

At New College, in Swindon, there are security guards that patrol the site daily.

Facilities manager Tom Jones said: "As a college we are very security conscious and have CCTV inside and outside the modern building.

"Our facilities staff act as security guards throughout the day as part of their role."

Parents' view

Luke Walmsley's parents Jayne and Paul Walmsley have strongly challenged the results of an independent inquiry into his death.

They say that it could have been prevented by excluding Alan Pennell who had been suspended from the school twice before and whose violent behaviour was known throughout the community.

The report claimed that a culture of fighting among Luke's peers led to his death.

But his parents say Alan Pennell was one of three or four boys who had been constantly bullying their son.

The report also highlighted the fact that Alan Pennell's past history of bad behaviour and self-harming had not been properly recorded by the authorities involved so his actions could not have been prevented.

Luke's parents have criticised the report for not suggesting ways of this type of incident happening again.

Paul Walmsley, said: "There is nothing about knives at all. We want to see a set of recommendations to prevent anyone from going through what we are going through.

"To think that some pupil could walk into school with a knife and threaten or use it on another pupil so easily it disturbs me."

Diana Milne