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TEACHERS at Knightswood Secondary were unaware that their new pupil Darren Taylor was awaiting sentence for culpable homicide after he pleading guilty to fatally punching Euan Craig.


Darren Taylor arriving at Glasgow High Court.

GYM hall killer Darren Taylor was secretly placed in a new school just weeks after he admitted a fatal attack on another pupil, we can reveal today.

Taylor spent three weeks at Knightswood Secondary in Glasgow after he pleaded guilty to punching 14-year-old Euan Craig to death.

His new classmates and their parents – as well as most teachers at Knightswood – were unaware the new pupil was awaiting sentence for culpable homicide.

A source close to the school said: “Only teachers who had direct contact with Taylor were told who he was.

“Parents will be shocked their children were taking classes with a convicted killer.”

Instead of being tutored at home while he waited to return to court, Taylor was moved from Rosshall Academy in Crookston – where the attack took place – and placed in Knightswood, which has around 1300 pupils.

Taylor, now 16, started at the school on September 3 last year, more than three months after he killed Euan.

On October 25, he pleaded guilty to culpable homicide but was allowed to remain in school until November 16.

The following week, he was sentenced to three and a half years detention by Lord Bracadale.

Taylor can now be identified after he turned 16 – the age of criminal responsibility under Scots law – last week.

Previously he had not been named because of rules which ensure that the identities of child criminals are kept secret.

Our source said: “Taylor’s arrival at Knightswood was conducted in complete secrecy.

“There should never have been any question about schooling him at home but instead, education officials put him back in the classroom.”

Taylor was 14 when he battered Euan in the school gym at Rosshall Academy in May 2012.

Both boys had been due to go to separate PE classes in adjoining gym halls.

Euan and his friends had been playing with a soft sponge ball used for shot put practice when it hit Taylor on the side of the face.

He began shouting: “What the ******* are you doing?” and Euan apologised, explaining it was an accident. But Taylor began raining blows on Euan, punching him on the head five times.

Throughout the attack Euan continued to apologise, telling Taylor: “Sorry, I didn’t mean it. It was an accident.”

Taylor walked away from the scene when a teacher arrived and Euan sat down on a bench.

Moments later, he slumped over and slid on to the floor. He died the following day.

The law states that Glasgow City Council were legally bound to provide Taylor with education, even after his guilty plea.

But experts say there was no requirement to place him in a busy comprehensive.



Darren Taylor poses with baseball bat

Education law expert Patrick McGuire, from Thompsons Solicitors, said: “The state has a legal duty to provide education to every child.

“However, in circumstances where it is deemed inappropriate to provide that education in a school setting for reasons of child safety, or if a child is deemed to be a risk to others, home schooling or schooling in a secure environment is appropriate, according to legislation.”

Euan’s father Richard, 45, said: “Darren Taylor beat my son to death with his bare hands merely for accidentally hitting him with a soft sponge ball.

“What might have happened if a child at Knightswood had recognised him and confronted him for his actions?”

His wife Ann, 44, added: “There are still far too many unanswered questions.

“We’ve not been given adequate explanation as to why Euan’s class was left unsupervised without a teacher for so long that Taylor could come in from another classroom, attack my son and simply walk away.”

Shadow Justice Minister Graeme Pearson said: “We really need to challenge whether the right decision was taken to send Taylor to another school after he pleaded guilty to such a terrible crime, particularly as other pupils and parents were oblivious to what dangers they might have faced.

“Given the nature of the crime, consideration should have been given to tutoring Taylor at home.”

A school insider said that while Taylor’s move to Knightswood was kept from most parents, the chairman of the Parent Teacher Association was informed.

A spokeswoman for Glasgow City Council said: “A multi-agency full risk assessment was carried out prior to the move and the parent council fully involved in the decision.

“As a council we have a duty of care to educate every child.”

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/sc...killer-2845208

It's real bad of them to do that, if I was at that school I'd be **** scared and my parents would definitely not want me going there... how is this going to bring anything but bad rep to the school?

[MeMyselfAndI]

Hes a murderer he surely should not be in a public school

[Jake.]

That really is a horrible story RIP to that poor boy, a thug like that doesn't deserve the four walls of a prison cell, never mind full time education

[RichardG]

What?? They sent him to another school? The only place he should have been sent to is directly into prison.

[RichardG]

The following week, he was sentenced to three and a half years detention by Lord Bracadale.

Does that mean he'll be back on the streets again in three and a half years? ffs he's obviously crazy if he's capable of murdering someone for accidentally throwing a SPONGE ball at him.

[Josy]

Originally Posted by RichardG

What??
They sent him to another school? The only place he should have been sent to is directly into prison.

You can't send a minor to a prison...if anything it would be a detention centre for juveniles.

He shouldn't have been sent back to a school/classroom full of kids IMO if the education system had a responsibility to give him an education then they should have done it privately with tutors at the very least parents of the other kids in the school should have been made aware.