Man, 26, knifed to death during row in front of horrified crowds

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A young man became the sixth person to be stabbed to death on London’s streets in just six days after he was attacked during a row in front of a crowd of horrified witnesses.

The 26-year-old victim was knifed repeatedly when he became involved in an argument with another person in a street packed with onlookers in Peckham Rye on Friday afternoon, police said.

Paramedics fought to save him but he was pronounced dead at the scene in Rye Lane shortly before 4pm.

Shop workers and business owners were heard screaming and crying as they ran out into the street to try to save the man after the attack before emergency services arrived.

Video footage and pictures posted on social media showed a swarm of police cars and sirens blaring as people looked on in the aftermath in broad daylight.

Scotland Yard said on Saturday that officers were still trying to piece together the events that led to the victim’s death. 

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Whellams of the Homicide and Major Crime Command, who is leading the investigation, said: “At this early stage we believe he was involved in an altercation with another person prior to being stabbed. 

“The incident drew a large crowd of onlookers who were on the street and in shops nearby at the time the incident happened.”

He appealed to anyone with mobile phone footage of the incident to contact the police urgently. 

Emergency services raced to the scene of the stabbing near to the junction with Blenheim Grove after 999 calls from members of the public at about 3.15pm.

The victim was pronounced dead in the street about 35 minutes later despite the efforts of paramedics.

A witness, an unnamed shopkeeper, told Southwark News that two men were arguing for about 15 minutes and were being held back by others.

He told the newspaper that as the argument escalated, one of the men broke free and stabbed the other.

A resident named Laura, who declined to give her second name, told the Weastar Times she was in the kitchen at the back of her flat when she heard a bang “and women from the salons screaming”.

She said: “My flat looks out on Blenheim Grove, the man fell across the road from me.

"I heard a bang which I think was the man falling into one of the metal shutters.

"I could just see lots of women in the road screaming. There are six salons in the road all next to each other. 

"It was more the screaming which drew me to the window. They were all in the road screaming and crying. 

"I couldn't see the man, he was surrounded by women."

She added: "It's sad a young man lost his life today."

Passer-by Chad O’Carroll said: “Looked pretty serious.

“They were holding back a tall man who was yelling at the police and looked like he was in a state of shock.”

Commuters pouring out of Peckham Rye station were met with a massive police cordon as officers and police cars blocked the road at the corner with Blenheim Grove.

A swathe of road was taped off by police as officers directed people around the crime scene.

The victim’s next of kin have been informed and a post-mortem examination is scheduled to take place on Saturday afternoon.

Formal identification is yet to take place.

There have been no arrests and enquiries continue.

English secondary schools 'facing perfect storm of pressures'

Educational reporter(wp):

Secondary schools in England are facing a “perfect storm” of pressures that could have severe consequences for children, headteachers have said.

Budget cuts, changes to exams, problems recruiting teachers and Brexit are causing major upheaval, according to the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT).

The union is also expected to argue against government proposals to expand grammar schools at its annual conference this weekend.

Speaking ahead of the Telford meeting, the NAHT general secretary, Russell Hobby, said: “The combination of challenges facing secondary schools and their students has never been greater.

“Many school leaders are concerned about maintaining high standards in the face of simultaneous upheaval on so many fronts. It’s a perfect storm. The government is loading more uncertainty onto the secondary system than ever before. There is a real risk it will break.”

Hobby repeated warnings that schools are facing “unacceptable levels of financial pressure”, with an NAHT survey showing that 72% of headteachers believe that school budgets will be unsustainable in two years’ time.

"This is a result of the government’s choice to freeze spending and keep it at 2010 levels for each pupil. The 2010 cash isn’t going as far as it used to. You can’t expect it to. But the government is flatly refusing to admit the reality.”

Ministers have argued that school funding is at record levels, and that this will increase further as pupil numbers rise. The outgoing NAHT president, Kim Johnson, attacked suggestions that schools need to make efficiency savings.

“It’s quite insulting to have ministers say to you: ‘You need to renegotiate your photocopying contract, perhaps think about the paper you’re getting in, club together with six other schools and you’ll get it cheaper.’”

are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain staff, the NAHT said, particularly in key subjects such as maths, science and languages.

“Year after year, the government has missed its own targets for teacher recruitment,” Hobby said. “Thirty per cent of new teachers leave the profession after five years.

“NAHT’s own research shows school leaders have struggled or failed to recruit in eight out of 10 cases this year. Recruitment has never been more challenging.”

Schools are also dealing with exam changes this summer, including a new GCSE grading system. There are also concerns about a government expectation that 90% of pupils will study English Baccalaureate subjects – English, maths, science, history or geography and a language - narrowing the curriculum, the NAHT said, and uncertainty about how Brexit will affect the thousands of EU nationals who work in schools.

The NAHT’s motion on selective schools says the union should “campaign vigorously to reject the proposed expansion of selection” in the absence of “any compelling evidence that it promotes social mobility”.

Theresa May has said the policy will help to create a place at a good school for every child and argued that many children’s school choices are determined by where they live or their parents’ wealth.