A teacher has told a court how she invited a 15-year-old pupil to eat lunch with her just moments before he was stabbed to death at their school in Sheffield.
Harvey Willgoose died on 3 February 2024 after being stabbed twice in front of fellow pupils at All Saints Catholic High School. A fellow 15-year-old student, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is standing trial for his murder at Sheffield Crown Court. The teenager admits manslaughter and possession of a knife, but denies murder.
Teacher Claire Staniforth gave moving testimony to the court on Thursday, describing her close relationship with Harvey and her final interactions with him, just hours before he was fatally attacked.
“I invited him to have lunch with me,” Ms Staniforth told jurors, holding back emotion. “But he never arrived.”
The court heard that Harvey had been worried about rumours circulating on social media following a school lockdown incident just five days before the stabbing. That incident, which also involved the defendant, was reportedly triggered by a claim that a knife had been brought onto school grounds—though no weapon was found by police at the time.
Ms Staniforth said Harvey had confided in her that he had considered skipping school over safety fears. “He said he wasn’t going to be coming in because he’d heard there had been a knife,” she recalled. “My reply to Harvey was that I wouldn’t be at work if somebody had had a knife.”
She described their relationship as one of mutual respect and kindness, telling the court, “We had a good laugh together about things. When he did attend school, he would come to see me and make sure I was OK. He made me laugh… a bit cheeky sometimes, but he never overstepped the boundaries.”
On the day of the stabbing, she said Harvey had called her and jokingly referred to her as his “bestie.” “He was laughing and told me not to tell a girl from another school about him,” she said. “He sounded happy.”
It was shortly after that call that Ms Staniforth says she offered for Harvey to join her for lunch—an invitation that would never be answered. Minutes later, she was informed of the stabbing.
“I was told Harvey had been stabbed,” she said, visibly emotional. “I sprinted there and told him I was there.”
The court also heard details of previous altercations involving the defendant. One took place five days earlier and led to a school-wide lockdown. Prosecutors say the defendant had to be physically restrained by staff when he attempted to involve himself in a dispute between other students. He claimed one of the boys had a knife—triggering the lockdown—but no weapon was found.
Ms Staniforth said she had spoken with the defendant about the growing tensions and claimed he once made a chilling remark. “He said to me, ‘What’s in your pockets? Do you want me to take it off you and I’ll kill you with it?’” she recounted, interpreting his comment as a reference to a knife.
Defence barrister Gul Nawaz Hussain KC told the court that his client had not intended to kill or seriously harm Harvey. “The defence say (the defendant’s) actions that day were the end result of a long period of bullying, poor treatment and violence—things that built one upon another until he lost control and did tragically what we’ve all seen.”
The jury has already viewed CCTV footage of the incident, showing the fatal attack in the school’s corridor.
The trial, which continues next week, is expected to include further testimony from students, staff and forensic experts as the court examines the circumstances surrounding the shocking tragedy.
