A 13-year-old boy has been charged with two counts of attempted murder after a knife attack at a London school.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is accused of stabbing two pupils at Kingsbury High School in Brent on Tuesday, leaving them seriously injured.

The victims, aged 12 and 13, were rushed to hospital after the alleged attack, with one taken to a major trauma centre. Both are now in a stable condition.

The Metropolitan Police said the teenager has also been charged with spraying a noxious substance in the face of a third child and possession of a knife on school grounds.

Detective Chief Superintendent Helen Flanagan, from Counter Terrorism Policing London, said today: ‘These are extremely serious charges against a young boy, and we continue to support the victims and their families, as well as the wider school community following this shocking incident.

‘While we have now charged the boy with these offences, our investigation is ongoing and detectives will continue to carry out enquiries in the local area. 

‘We are working closely with local policing colleagues in the Brent area and I would also like to thank the school and the wider local community for their support in recent days.’

The boy is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Youth Court later this morning.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is accused of stabbing two pupils at Kingsbury High School in Brent on Tuesday, leaving them seriously injured 

The boy, a former pupil, is said to have arrived at the school with a knife at around 12:30pm.

A parent claimed to The Telegraph that he boy onto the premises by ‘climbing over a wall’.

It is understood the school had security staff on the main gate, which was often locked for the majority of the day. 

He allegedly made his way to a first-floor classroom and sprayed a substance towards a child, who was not injured, before stabbing a 13-year-old boy in the classroom.

The boy is accused of then running downstairs and stabbing another pupil, aged 12.

Police arrested the boy, who is British, after he was seen at a mosque.

Ms Flanagan said yesterday that searches had been carried out across three premises – two addresses connected to the suspect and the mosque where he was arrested.

She said: ‘We have around 30 to 40 witnesses whom we’re interviewing and getting accounts from.

‘This is an extremely delicate process given the young ages of many of the witnesses from the school and we are using highly trained and specialist officers to carry out these interviews.’

Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams yesterday said he understood the ‘truly shocking’ incident had been ‘hugely distressing’ for the local community.

He said: ‘It’s hard to imagine the impact on the loved ones of the victims and the officers are providing them with special support.

‘I hope the knowledge this was an extraordinary one-off event which led to the swift arrest of the suspect provides some reassurance.

‘There is currently no reason to think anyone else was involved.’

A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service said: ‘Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring this case to court and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.

‘We have worked closely with the police as they have carried out their investigation.

‘We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against this defendant are active and that he has the right to a fair trial.

‘It is vital that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.’

This is a breaking news story and is being updated.