A six-year-old French boy who was thrown off a balcony at the Tate Modern art gallery in London in August 2019 has now left hospital. His family says he has his "smile back on his face" and has even gone back to school briefly before the summer holidays. The news was shared on the family's GoFundMe page on 3 August 2026, almost seven years after the attack. The Guardian

The boy survived a fall of about 30 metres but was left with very serious injuries, including bleeding on the brain and multiple broken bones. His family, who call him "notre petit chevalier" (our little knight), says he is still having treatment to help him move, speak, and think clearly. Leaving hospital follows a setback in April 2026, when the family said his recovery had taken a "sad step backwards." The Guardian

Over the years, the family has shared updates on how the boy is doing. By October 2025, BBC News reported that he had reached his goal of being able to run, jump, and swim again. The family now plans for him to take adaptive swimming lessons and maths tutoring to catch up on school he missed. To celebrate the end of his hospital treatment, they are taking him on a tandem paragliding flight and a seaside trip with friends. BBC News

The attack happened on 4 August 2019. Jonty Bravery, who was 17 at the time, threw the boy from a public viewing platform on the 10th floor of the Tate Modern. Bravery was living in a type of housing where staff provide support, but he was allowed to go out on his own without supervision. A court later heard that Bravery had planned to pick someone to kill. He admitted to attempted murder and was given a life sentence with a minimum of 15 years in prison. The Guardian

After being sentenced, Bravery got into further trouble. In 2020, he was given a 14-week jail sentence for attacking staff at Broadmoor, a high-security psychiatric hospital in Berkshire. In January 2026, he was jailed for 16 weeks after being found guilty of attacking two nurses at the same hospital in September 2024. The Guardian

A GoFundMe page to help pay for the boy's medical costs was started by Vicky Diplacto, a nurse from Surrey. She decided to help because her own brother was paralysed in an incident abroad. The page has raised more than £500,000. The Guardian

Several UK news organisations confirmed the boy's discharge and the family's description of how he is doing. BBC News and ITV News both reported on 3 August 2026 that the boy had his "smile back on his face" after leaving hospital. The Independent also reported that he had returned to school. BBC News; ITV News; The Independent

The broader context here is about how children recover from serious brain injuries. When a young child's brain is hurt, the full effects may not show up right away. As the child grows older and faces more challenges at school and in daily life, problems with thinking, memory, and emotions can become clearer. That is why the boy still needs ongoing care even after leaving hospital. The "sad step backwards" the family mentioned in April is actually normal for this kind of recovery. Healing from a severe brain injury does not happen in a straight line. There can be stalls and dips along the way.

The fact that Bravery was allowed out unsupervised from his supported housing raised questions about whether the system properly assessed the risk he posed to others. His later violent behaviour inside Broadmoor, which led to two further jail sentences, suggests that managing his risk remains a challenge. Places like Broadmoor have two jobs at once: keeping people safe and also providing treatment, which is why Bravery is held in a hospital setting rather than a standard prison.

For the boy's family, raising over £500,000 through GoFundMe shows how expensive long-term recovery from a serious injury can be, especially when medical care crosses borders and adds travel and logistics on top of treatment. The family's choice to celebrate the end of hospital care with a paragliding flight is, in its own way, a statement about taking back the future that was nearly taken from him.