Autistic boy who took replica knife to school has exclusion quashed by high court

Boy’s mother says she hopes case will help others, as judge says exclusion should be ‘a tool of last resort’

The mother of a 10-year-old autistic boy who had his permanent exclusion from a primary school quashed by the high court has said she hopes the ruling helps other children.

The boy, who cannot be named, was permanently excluded from his primary school, part of the Lift academy chain, after coming to school in July 2025 with a replica butterfly knife, which he handed to a friend to use against another child during an altercation in the playground.