"... I thought it might be just a normal altercation - it is east London."

It is understood some involved in the attack were in school uniform - with the teacher reportedly just two weeks into his new job.

Gulzarin Iqbal, a physician associate at the nearby Lord Lister Health Centre, said there was 'a lot of blood' when he went to the aid of the stricken man who had been stabbed with a 'long knife' outside the east London school.

Sadly, Gulzarin, these days, an adult getting stabbed in the back by schoolchildren is 'a normal altercation' for east London.

He described the victim as an 'African male, in his 40s, of average build.'

What was all that guff about how schoolchildren need role model teachers who look like them in the classroom?