Headteacher removed word ‘sinister’ from Southport killer Axel Rudakubana’s education plan after mental health workers accused her of racially profiling ‘a black boy with a knife’

A headteacher has removed the word “sinister” from the Southport killer’s education plan after mental health workers accused him of racially profiling a “black boy with a knife”.

Axel Rudakubana was enrolled at The Acorns School in Ormskirk, Lancashire, at the age of 13, after being expelled from general education for bringing a knife into classes.

Headteacher Joanne Hodson told the public inquiry into his crimes that she recognized from day one that the teenager was ‘very high risk’.

In an email to all his staff, he said Rudakubana had not shown any emotion or ‘remorse’ and should be searched regularly for knives because he was ‘very high risk’.

But Ms Hodson later said she agreed to remove the word ‘evil’ and comments calling Rudakubana ‘cold and calculating’ from the training plan after mental health workers accused Rudakubana of racially profiling a ‘black boy with a knife’.

He said the criticism ‘silenced him’ and ‘shut him down professionally’.

Ms Hodson described a ‘memorable’ first date when she asked Rudakubana why he had brought a knife into their earlier extensive conversation.

‘He looked into my eyes and said ‘use it’,’ he said. ‘This is the only time in my entire career that a student has said this to me or acted so unrepentantly.’

But Ms Hodson later said she agreed to remove the word “sinister” and comments calling Rudakubana “cold and calculating” from the training plan after mental health workers accused Rudakubana of racially profiling a “black boy with a knife”.

Six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar were killed in the atrocity on July 29, 2024.

He said he was surprised that his parents, who were also at the meeting, ‘didn’t shy away’ from the comment and simply accepted his explanation.

Ms Hodson said they believed their son was a ‘good boy’, that his bad behavior was a result of having been bullied before and that his actions were ‘someone else’s fault’.

But the teacher was so concerned that he sent an email to all his staff saying: ‘AR (Rudakubana) was an extremely extraordinary student, the most extraordinary student I have ever encountered in my career.

‘At Acorns we educate and support young people with a range of complex needs, but I’ve never come across a student like AR. He was incredibly difficult to read, had unusual energy, and was unpredictable.

‘There was a sinister undertone and it was difficult to establish rapport. He had no respect for authority and had no respect for other students and staff in general. He insisted that only his views were correct and the others were wrong.

‘He never had any remorse or sense of responsibility for what he did. To me, these features are extraordinary.’

Rudakubana was enrolled at The Acorns School in October 2019, but within weeks his behavior was flagged as worrying by staff.

He began researching school shootings online, making shocking statements and threatening students and staff.

He said he had a ‘gut feeling of fear’ that he ‘was going to do something’ to one of his peers.

‘I felt like I was preparing for something,’ he said.

‘I felt like something was about to happen… that kind of excitement and the direct challenges to the staff and his attitude with other students made it feel like he was building and building and building every day.

‘I was aware that he was bringing a knife to school and I was worried that he would bring something to our school and do something similar at our school.’

However, Rudakubana, who was referred to by his initials in the investigation, eventually attacked a student at his former school.

Rudakubana outside Hart Space dance studio in Southport before launching the attack that left three teenage girls dead

The same knife used in Rudakubana’s attack at Hart Space in Southport last July

On December 5, 2019, he attended The Range High School in Formby, where he attacked another student with a hockey stick. She was also found with a knife in her bag.

By then Acorn School had already referred Rudakubana to Prevent, the Government’s counter-terrorism programme.

The referral was formally assessed on 13 December, but MI5 did not believe it met the threshold for launching a Security Service investigation as no terrorist or domestic extremist ideology had been identified – they had no further involvement at that time.

Nearly a year later, on February 1, 2021, a second Prevent referral was made by the school following Rudakubana’s posts on Instagram about former Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi.

A third prompt followed, a few weeks later, on April 22, 2021, in which Rudakubana opened web pages related to the London Bridge attack in class. He also discussed the IRA, MI5 and the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

However, each time his case was deemed not serious enough to warrant further investigation and was closed.

Ms Hodson said she did not believe the school was the right place for Rudakubana from the beginning.

But even after the attack on the Range – when he hoped other agencies would step in and help them manage the risk Rudakubana presented – nothing was done, he said.

‘We literally left the baby in our arms,’ Ms Hodson added.

Due to the attack at The Range, Rudakubana was not allowed to return to The Acorns School, but no decisions had been made about his future education when the outbreak emerged in March 2020.

He had not been to school for more than two years when he killed six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar and attempted to kill 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on July 29 last year.

The investigation at Liverpool City Hall continues.