Concerns for the safety of students at Richmond College saw hundreds put through a knife arch search by the police last week.

The search came against the background of violence involving students at the college in Twickenham, which attracts hundreds of teenagers from outside the borough.

In October 2021, an 18-year-old student at the college – Hazrat Wali – died after being stabbed on the Cranefield Way playing fields alongside the college. The attacker, who was 16 at the time, is due to be sentenced later this week.

Stabbing victim Hazrat Wali. Credit: Metropolitan Police.

Following the killing a number of police-led weapons searches were carried out at the college.

Many youngsters raised in the borough who, in the past, might have attended the college are now taught at Sixth Forms established in recent years at Richmond schools.

The fact that such weapons searches are necessary may well alarm parents and residents living nearby.

Knife arch searches have been carried out on people coming through Twickenham railway station in the past. Credit: British Transport Police.

In the past, knife arch searches have been carried out on people coming through Twickenham railway station, which is used by many students attending the college.

Richmond Police tweeted about carrying out successful knife arch searches of some 750 students at the college.

Knife discovered by South Richmond police. Credit: Metropoloitan Police.

The police have described such searches as part of a wider effort to reassure students and the wider community that Richmond is a safe place to live, work and study. 

A spokesman said: "We randomly do searches in various locations across the borough. Sometimes it's intelligence based and others it's random."

The borough's police have made tackling knife crime a major priority. The South Richmond police team recently tweeted an image of a terrifying knife found in a front garden. This was not connected to Richmond College.

Asked about the knife arch search, Richmond College said it had taken place for a number of years.

A spokesperson said: "This was part of a planned community safety programme where the college works closely with the local police."