Police have reassured parents and students their schoolyards are safe, as a Queensland community mourns the death of 12-year-old Elliot Fletcher.
A 13-year-old fellow student from St Patrick's College, at Shorncliffe on Brisbane's northern bayside, was remanded in custody until April 29 after a murder charge was mentioned briefly in the Brisbane Children's Court on Tuesday.
His lawyers on Tuesday afternoon lost a bail application after it was opposed by the prosecution.
More than 1,000 students, parents and staff attended a morning mass at St Patrick's for Elliot, who died on Monday after being stabbed in the chest in the school grounds.
Grieving pupils were told they must always remember the value of life.
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Parents who attended the mass struggled to understand how a young healthy boy could meet his death in what should have been a haven for learning and fun. Mother Natalie Smoothy, whose son attends the Catholic college, spoke what was written on every face.
"How did this happen in a little, quiet, beautiful part of the world?" she said.
"It's just tragic and it's really going to affect this community. We're going to have to stay strong and solid.
That's why we're all here today."
For five minutes after the mass concluded, the congregation sat in silence, unwilling to move. William Carr, a past student who graduated in 2008, said there was no culture of violence at the school.
"In three years, I saw one fight and the people apologised to one another 20 minutes later," he said after the mass finished.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd struggled to find the words when asked to respond to the tragedy in his home state. "It's horrifying," he told reporters in Canberra.
"Australia's not the sort of place where this should be happening in the schoolyard."
Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson said there was evidence in wider society of an increase in young people carrying knives and machetes, but schools were safe. "I think we can be absolutely confident that essentially our schools are safe places," he said.
Figures released by the police service on Tuesday afternoon showed there were 46 knife offences in educational precincts, including schools, in 2008/09 - a rise of 12 over the previous year.
Eighteen of these were classed as life-endangering acts.
The family of the boy charged over the death told reporters through their lawyers that the circumstances were "extremely tragic".
"However, there is also a young boy who is now facing the criminal justice system on a very serious charge," spokeswoman for lawyers Robertson O'Gorman, Louisa Pink, said outside the court.
"Current speculation in the media as to the motives and the circumstances are, frankly, unfair to him, and we are just asking that the media exercise restraint." During this afternoon's unsuccessful bail application, the boy's barrister Andrew Boe told the court the boy was a well behaved child from a respectable family.
The Queensland opposition called for a new criminal offence of assault on school grounds, and boost police powers of entry in a bid to underline how serious the community considers attacks in schools.
Attorney-General Cameron Dick said the unlawful possession of a knife in a school is an offence, and police had the power to enter school grounds to conduct searches and charge individuals.
"The government will do everything in its power to make sure every child feels safe and secure at school," Mr Dick said.
