The second part of our investigation into knife crime looks at a project designed to tackle the problem head on. It’s not run by a nagging teacher or a finger-wagging policeman, but a genuine expert on the subject of knives; Mark Davies is a professional martial arts instructor and Combative instructor to Special Forces. End of Term caught up with him to discuss his ‘Cutting Edge’ programme.

I asked Mark to outline what his programme is all about. “Basically the Cutting Edge programme aims to get young people to understand the consequences of using a weapon.” Illustrating further he says: “we really try to bring home exactly what will happen not just in their own lives but in the lives of everybody around them if they decide to go down that route. It’s a lecture based presentation.”