Four teenagers have been found guilty of murdering pupil Zac Olumegbon outside the gates of his school, and one offender has been convicted of manslaughter.
Judge Giles Forrester lifted a ban on reporting the identities of the defendants, who are all from south London and 18 or younger. Helder Demorais, 17, Ricardo Giddings, 17, Jamal Moore, 17, and Kyle Kinghorn, 18, were found guilty of murder and face life terms. Shaquille Haughton, 16, was found guilty of manslaughter.
The verdict was delivered by the jury at the Old Bailey on Monday. The 15-year-old was stabbed to death in front of Park Campus School at West Norwood in July 2010. During the trial, the court heard how the teenager was knifed four times, two of the wounds piercing his heart.
Within moments of being hounded down, Olumegbon lay dying on his back in the garden of a house just 100 metres from the school.
Prosecutor Ed Brown QC said: “Before he was able to start his school day, he found himself hounded down. He had only just arrived at his school that morning.”
The jury also heard the killing was part of a "revenge attack". A gang targeted Olumegbon after one of their members was stabbed, a newspaper reported.
The killers, who were aged 15-17 at the time, were armed with at least two knives and had deliberately gone to the school to attack Olumegbon. Another 14-year-old boy was injured in the confrontation.
Brown told the Old Bailey: "The reality of the events that were to lead to Zac's death is that it had its origin in the dreadful but certain fact of rivalry between young gangs.
"Needless posturing that on occasion led to violence and occasion serious violence and death. It was a tragic and terrible waste of a young life."
The barrister said the defendants were members of the GAS (Guns And Shanks) gang from Brixton. Olumegbon was associated with the rival TN1 (Trust No-One) gang from Tulse Hill.
"Zac was a member of it and was known as Little Zac," added Brown.
Olumegbon's mother Shakira told the court of the pain of losing her youngest child. In a statement, she said: "The scene that confronted me when I reached the school is indescribable. Even though Zac was young, he touched many lives."
The offenders will be sentenced next month.