Updated 14 November 2025
It’s been a week since the incident at college, and during that time we’ve taken a close look at our safety measures to make sure we’re doing everything we can to keep everyone safe.
I hope you’ve settled back into college since the events of last week and that everyone is feeling safe being on campus.
You’ll have noticed more activity around the college recently, especially with extra lanyard checks. We know this is an extra step in your day, and we hope it hasn’t caused any anxiety. These checks are in place to protect everyone, and we appreciate your support and cooperation.
We’re confident we now have a strong and reliable plan in place to keep you safe at all times, including if we ever needed to go into lockdown again.
Over the past week, we’ve completed checks on our lockdown alarm system to make sure everything is working exactly as it should.
We’ve also met with Thames Valley Police to review their advice on our student search policy, and we’ll be strengthening our approach to checks if we have concerns someone may be carrying a bladed item. This is all about keeping our community safe, and we’ll continue to act quickly and responsibly whenever it’s needed.
We also need you to be respectful to staff when they ask to see your lanyard and please avoid making jokes or off-hand comments about having a knife, even if you don’t mean them. Comments like these won’t be taken lightly and could trigger unnecessary checks and take attention away from real concerns. Keeping the college safe is something we all play a part in.
Alongside the actions we’ve already taken, we’re carrying out a wider review of our safety procedures. This might lead to further changes, but we’ll keep you updated as this work continues.
If you have any worries or want to talk to someone, please speak to your tutor or a member of the Student Support team.
Take care,
Michelle Parks
Group Director responsible for Reading College and University Centre