A teaching assistant died after being stabbed by a 14-year-old pupil in France this morning, according to a source close to the case.

The 31-year-old teaching assistant was attacked and seriously wounded with a knife during a bag search outside of the Françoise Dolto secondary school in Nogent.

She was said to have been taken into care in 'absolute emergency' before succumbing to her injuries.

The offending pupil was arrested and taken into custody after the attack, the local prefecture reported.

A gendarme detaining the student suffering a slight hand injury during the arrest, the gendarmerie said.