Britain provides anti-knife lessons to students for safety in summer holidays

LONDON - Secondary school students in England are having safety lessons designed by the Home Office to reduce the risk of knife violence in the summer holidays, British media reported Tuesday.

The Home Office provides the lessons to help young people understand the need to keep themselves safe from "the rise in serious violence" and warn them not to believe the "myth" that it is safer for them to carry a knife, said Crime Minister Victoria Atkins.

BBC reported that with the end of term approaching, students from 11 to 16 years old are having the safety lessons designed to reduce the risk of stabbings during the long hot summer holidays.

The lessons are taught through personal, health and social education classes, with the Home Office providing information to 50,000 subject specialists.

"The summer holidays can pose additional dangers to young people, which is why we are determined to do everything we can to keep them safe and give them the tools and resilience they need to enjoy the summer break," said Atkins.

Knife crime increased by 22 percent last year in England and Wales, with almost 40,000 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Some fatal stabbings involved young people, particularly in London.

The knife crime lessons are part of a wider Home Office strategy to deter young people from carrying knives, and to reduce acts of serious violence.