I joined with local campaigners at the first ever knife crime prevention assembly at Pedmore High School.
I vowed to work with schools and the campaigners to make Stourbridge a knife free zone.
I was with Mark Brindley from the James Brindley Foundation and the father of Ryan Passey, Ade Passey, plus Passey family friend Jason Connon for the hard hitting assembly involving 120 year 8 pupils.
Headteacher Gareth Lloyd introduced everyone to the pupils and then handed over to me to explain what the assembly was going to be about.
Mark led it and started off by playing a video about his son James. After the video, Mark explained in detail what had happened to James on the night he died.
Mark then went on to talk about why people carry knives. He explained the predominant reason was fear, but said that if a young person carries a knife, they are likely to use it and to become a victim of stabbing.
Towards the end of the assembly, Gareth Lloyd said that the year group's PSHE lessons after Easter would be about knife crime discussing why people carry knives and also how the knives collected in bins can be better used.
One pupil asked what it was like for Mark when he found out the news about the death of James. Mark explained how devastating it was. Ade Passey was also asked to explain what happened to Ryan, who was stabbed in a Stourbridge nightclub. He urged children not to carry knives and to let a responsible adult or parent know if they are aware of someone carrying knives.
I gave a speech highlighting how devastating it is to parents and loved ones to lose a child to knife crime, and encouraging the children to not carry knives.
I would like to thank everyone who took part in this first assembly and to Pedmore for hosting it.
It was hard hitting to hear about lives lost and the utter devastation visited on families like the Brindleys and Passeys, and I felt the same as the head when he said it had an effect on many pupils.
If taking part in assemblies like these with those who bravely speak of their loss at the hands of a blade means just one less knife is carried the next day in Stourbridge, then it would have been worth it as we move towards becoming a knife free town.
Knife crime is a serious problem in the West Midlands and it will take time to address. But I am optimistic that we now have committed campaigners like Mark, Ade and Jason to take the message into schools that knives should never be carried.”
