Full inquest ordered into Sheffield schoolboy Harvey Willgoose's stabbing death

A coroner has reversed her decision and will hold a full inquest into the murder of 15-year-old Harvey Willgoose, stabbed at his Sheffield school in 2025.

Coroner reverses decision — full inquest into Harvey Willgoose's murder to proceed

A full inquest will be held into the death of Sheffield schoolboy Harvey Willgoose, after the senior coroner reversed an earlier decision not to resume her investigation, bbc.co.uk reports.

Harvey, 15, was stabbed to death by fellow pupil Mohammed Umar Khan, also 15, in front of children and teachers at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield in February 2025. Khan was convicted of murder following a trial and detained for a minimum of 16 years.

An inquest had been opened and adjourned in February last year pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings. After Khan's conviction, senior coroner Tanyka Rawden initially decided not to resume the inquest — a decision she has now reversed. A date for the hearing has not yet been set, the coroner's office confirmed.

Harvey's mother, Caroline Willgoose, said the decision to proceed was a "huge relief".

"It's devastating to know there were warning signs and chances to step in before Harvey was killed," she said. "As his mum, I can't help thinking about what might have happened if someone had acted."

She added that although a full inquest would not "bring Harvey back or take away the pain", it meant the questions the family had lived with since his death could finally be asked. "We have fought for this for Harvey. He deserved to be safe at school, and we hope getting those answers will help stop another child being taken from their family."

Harvey's father Mark also welcomed the decision.

Law firm Irwin Mitchell, representing the Willgoose family, said it had made legal submissions arguing that an inquest was required. Those submissions followed a review commissioned by the trust that runs the school, which found Khan had brought knives into school on multiple occasions and identified "several missed opportunities" to address his behaviour.

The independent review, commissioned by St Clare Catholic Multi-Academy Trust and published in January, found that Khan had 130 behavioural incidents logged on his school record, including concerns relating to gangs, weapons and anger. School leaders "could, and at times should, have taken different action", the review concluded. The trust said it would "continue to take action" in line with the report's recommendations, with several "robust measures" already implemented since Harvey's death.

Yogi Amin, a solicitor at Irwin Mitchell, said there was a "strong public interest" in examining whether Harvey's death was preventable and whether systemic failings in the education system played a role.

"While the coroner will determine the inquest's scope, Mark and Caroline hope they will examine safeguarding policies, practices and resources applied in schools and the role of public bodies," Amin said. "This includes looking at information-sharing and risk-escalation and consider if measures are necessary to prevent similar deaths."

Amin also said school leaders nationally should use the interim period to review their own policies and practices to ensure they were fit for purpose and that other pupils were not placed at risk.

Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)