The boy told his classmates at Charles Conder Primary School in Conder that the knives were to be used in an after-school fight with another boy.

The Year 4 student brought the weapons one made from a hacksaw blade and another made from a pair of scissors to school last Friday.

Parents attending a Father's Day breakfast at the school noticed the child had dropped the knives on the ground and immediately took the weapons away from the boy, who is below the age of criminal responsibility, and informed the school's principal.

One of the boy's classmates later approached the parents and asked could the child have his knives back because he needed them for a fight he had arranged with another student after school.

One parent, who has decided to withdraw her child from the school, described the incident as ''alarming''.

''Some of the other parents were alarmed too,'' she said.

An education department spokesman said police had been informed of the incident and were planning to visit the school and counsel the boy.

''A Year4 student produced an implement,'' the spokesman said. ''The items were confiscated and the child was compliant.

''The school has arranged for police to visit the school and speak to the child.''