GCSE exams disrupted by bomb hoaxes across South East (Updated 27/05/16)

DarthDucky

Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-36364458

Hundreds of students had their GCSE exams disrupted following a series of bomb hoaxes in the South East.

Police have appealed for information after a person rang Canterbury Academy warning of an explosive device.

Calls were also made to Ringmer School, near Lewes, Cranmere Primary, in Esher, Barming Primary, in Maidstone, and Kingsham Primary, in Chichester.

The Department for Education said "clear emergency arrangements" were in place.

About 20 schools across the country have received warnings from anonymous callers.

DarthDucky

Also reported on the Daily Mail:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ ... -GCSE-exam-day.html

Bomb threats forced the closure of 26 schools across the UK today as students prepared to sit their GCSE exams.

Thousands of pupils were evacuated after a series of anonymous phone calls warning of hidden explosives were received by school offices up and down the country this morning.

Many students were pulled from school grounds in the middle of their exams as emergency services swooped on scene to carry out searches, in what appears to have been an elaborate hoax.

A similar incident occurred in January when a Russian Twitter group was believed to have been responsible for a series of bomb threats which saw 14 schools evacuated in Britain.

The group had invited pupils to get in touch if they wanted to 'get out of school' - raising speculation that students may have devised a similar hoax to avoid today's exams.

The first reports of a bomb scare were at Canterbury High School after an anonymous caller said there was a bomb on site and that 'the shrapnel will take children's heads off'.

All pupils were evacuated from the academy, including 240 pupils sitting a GCSE English exam.

Students cleared from the exam were then sent to a tennis hall while non-exam pupils were sent home for the day.

Head teacher Phil Karnavas said secretarial staff received 'repeated' calls from an adult male claiming an explosive device was hidden in the school.

He said: 'The exact words, I believe, were "bomb on site, shrapnel will take children's heads off".

'It's almost certainly a hoax but with what's happening across Europe I'm not prepared to take that gamble.'

The head teacher decided to clear the buildings immediately as police were called in.

Pupils were initially sent to the fields but, with rain pouring down, Mr Karnavas decided to send them home.

Those 240 who were sitting the GCSE English exam were expected to complete the paper this afternoon.

Police confirmed that an anonymous call was made at 10.13am and that the school was evacuated as a precaution.

A Kent Police spokesman said: 'Police were called to Canterbury High School at 10.13am on Monday 23 May after an anonymous phone call was made to the school.

'The school has been evacuated as a precaution and officers are at the scene.'


A Stockton primary school also went into lockdown after receiving a similar threat.

A post on the Rosebrook Primary School Facebook page read: 'You may be aware of police presence at school.

'We have received a threat to the school but please be assured the children are safe, we are dealing with the incident and the school is on lockdown at the moment.'

A further post said: 'School is on partial lockdown, the children can be picked up at 3pm as normal or if you would like to collect your child, please come to the main office.'

Parents of Pinhoe Primary School in Exeter received the text from the school which read: 'Please can all pupils be collected from their classroom today.

'We will look after those pupils who normally walk home until they can be collected.

'This is a precautionary measure following a malicious phone call to the school. Police are aware.'

A spokesperson for the Rudyard Avenue school, in Roseworth, gave no comment when asked about the threat but many parents commenting on the post were worried at the lack of information provided.

It is understood parents received a text message about the threat.

One parent commented: 'I'm going to pick my daughter up! Can't just send us a text and expect us to sit at home while our children are in that school!!!'

Another user wrote: 'Morning nursery kids have been let out but nobody else is allowed in or out of school now, gates are all locked. No idea what's happened but they are keeping the kids safe inside.'

Cleveland Police said it had a 'small presence' at the school.

Chief Inspector Emily Harrison said: 'Police received information from Rosebrook Primary School to say that they had answered an anonymous telephone call of a concerning nature.

'As a precautionary measure there is a small police presence at the school and in the local area while enquiries continue, but officers at the scene say there is currently no immediate confirmed risk to pupils or teachers.

'Nursery children have left their morning session and other pupils continue to be cared for as usual. We would ask that parents do not attend the school unnecessarily.'

Three schools in Peterborough were also evacuated and a road was closed following a bomb threat.

Voyager Academy, Mayfield Primary and Discovery Primary School were cordoned off by police as they examine the buildings.

A Cambridgeshire Police spokesman said they believe the threats were a hoax and are understood to be part of a series of threats at schools across the country that have taken place throughout the year.

In Hampshire, Emsworth Primary School received a bomb threat and was evacuated, with pupils and staff were taken to the nearby Glenwood School.  


Headteacher Kate Fripp told UKNIP: 'There has been a security incident at Emsworth Primary School today.

'All children are safe and are at Glenwood School receiving refreshments.

'The police are on the school site and we expect to be allowed back in within the hour.'

Whiteley Primary and Kingham Primary also had security alerts.

Hampshire Police told MailOnline that the schools affected in their area received bomb threats, but nothing was found when the buildings were investigated.

Oulder Hill School and Redwood School in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, were evacuated after warnings of 'suspicious packages'.  

A spokesman said Redwood Secondary School received a phone call saying 'an item had been placed' within the school.

Nothing has been found after extensive sweeps involving police and senior school staff.

Both schools are on Greave Avenue in the Spotland area of the town.

They back on to Rochdale Golf Club, with the Gracie Fields Theatre and leisure facilities including a swimming pool also part of the complex.

It's understood that searches were carried out by police on the rooftops and around other areas of both schools.

The force confirmed officers were called to Redwood Secondary School shortly after 11.30am.

Stuart Pidgeon, headteacher at Redwood School, said: 'A phone call was placed to Redwood school this morning that led staff to believe a suspicious device had been placed within the grounds.

'Following a full evacuation of pupils and staff at Redwood and Oulder Hill schools, police and senior staff determined that there was no device and pupils have now returned to class.

'The circumstances behind the phone call will be investigated by Greater Manchester Police as they deem appropriate.'

Blacon High School in Cheshire, Wootton Upper School in Bedfordshire and Cranmere Primary School in Surrey also had security alerts.

A parent at Cranmere Primary told Get Surrey: 'We were sent an email and a text from the school saying the school had been evacuated and our children were safe and being taken to Esher High School and to come and collect them.'   

A second school in Kent was also evacuated following a similar bomb threat.

Barming Primary School and adjoining pre-school in Maidstone was closed and evacuated, and children were moved to the nearby St Augustine Academy to await collection by parents.

Police were called at 10.19am after a report of an anonymous threatening phone call and officers remained at the scene into the afternoon.

Other threats were also made to schools across the country, including East Sussex, Cambridgeshire and Surrey.

Matthew Manders, from Maidstone, has a four-year-old daughter and two boys aged six and nine attending the primary school and pre-school.

He said: 'I feel terrible, not knowing what is going on and not being kept in the loop. My family is my life and I won't be the only parent rushing back to make sure my family is alright.'

'It is absolutely terrifying. I don't know why anybody would do something like this.'  

Middleton Park School in Leeds alerted parents that it had received a bomb threat and told them to pick up their children this afternoon.

A text from the school read: 'You may be aware that we had a hoax bomb threat this morning and evacuated the build (sic) immed.

'All is well Police have allowed us to re-enter the building but pls collect your child from school asap. Thanks MPS.'  

Ringmer Primary School in East Sussex told that it was 'not appropriate or practical' to re-open the school after it was deemed safe.

Chair of Governors, Anne Franklin, said:  'A thorough search with the police deemed the school safe for us to return this afternoon but it was not appropriate or practical for us to re-open the school for the children.

'At this time the staff involved are still giving their statements to police. Our thanks go to RCC for their help and support during the alert.

'They enabled us to maintain complete safety of the children and even provided lunch for the remaining children and staff. Our task this afternoon is to review our crisis management plan as we would always expect to do after an incident like this.

'We have subsequently discovered that a number of schools up and down the UK have had similar threats today and took similar action in response.

'We are confident there is no threat to the school and we will be open as normal tomorrow.'

n January, a Russian Twitter group was believed to be behind a series of bomb threats which saw thousands of pupils evacuated from 14 schools in Britain and six in Paris.

The group, which called themselves 'Evacuators 2K16', invited pupils to get in touch if they wanted to 'get out of school'.

After children were removed from six schools in Birmingham, four in London and four in Cornwall, the group was closed down.

DarthDucky

Taken from the Daily Mail (see post 2)

SCHOOLS WHICH HAVE BEEN EVACUATED DUE TO BOMB ALERTS

1. Canterbury Academy, Kent
2. Barming Primary School, Maidstone
3. Voyager Academy, Peterborough
4. Discover Primary School, Peterborough
5. Wootton Upper School, Bedfordshire
6. Redwood School, Rochdale
7. Oulder Hill School, Rochdale
8. Emsworth Primary School, Hampshire
9. Kingsham Primary School, Chichester
10. Whiteley Primary School, Fareham
11. Rosebrook Primary School, Stockton
12. Cranmere Primary School, Surrey
13. Mayfield Primary School, Cambridge
14. Blacon High School, Cheshire
15. Crabtree Farm Primary School, Nottingham
16. Lindisfarne Middle School, Northumberland
17. Charville Primary School, Middlesex
18. Dafen Community Primary School, Llanelli
19. Pinhoe Primary School, Exeter
20. Middleton Primary School, Leeds
21. Ringmer Primary School, East Sussex
22. Maldon Primary School, Essex
23. Barnwell School, Stevenage
24. Charlestown Primary School, Cornwall
25. Caversham Primary School, Reading
26. Devonport High School for Girls, Plymouth

DarthDucky

Better safe than sorry so please make sure your child is aware of his/her school's Lockdown Procedure, especially the Signal for Lockdown and All-Clear!

It will look something like:
http://www.stvincent.herts.sch.u ... dures_June_2015.pdf

http://www.princesrisborough.buc ... _September_2015.pdf

More info:
https://www.gov.uk/government/pu ... lockdown-procedures

DarthDucky

Link: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk- ... reats-force-8062635

Third day of bomb threats force UK schools to evacuate after vow to 'shoot and behead' children


UPDATED 15:34, 27 MAY 2016

At least 27 schools have been forced to evacuate today after bomb and gun threats were made across the UK.
It comes after a week of chaos as a series of anonymous calls warned of bombs in more than 40 schools with the caller claiming "the shrapnel will take children's heads off".
Two schools in Kent – Stella Maris Primary and Sandgate Primary – also received calls reporting that a gunman was in the area – but officers declared the warnings a hoax.
Counter terror police are looking into the anonymous calls that threatened pupils with beheadings and shootings.


Bomb and gun threats were made at the following UK schools today:

• Kilmaine Primary School, Bangor
  
• Whitchurch High School, Cardiff
  
• Earls High School, Halesowen
  
• Welling School, Elsa Road
  
• Combe Down Primary School, Bath
  
• Omagh County Primary School, Omagh
  
• Dame Janet Primary Academy School, Ramsgate
  
• Bower Grove Primary School, Maidstone
  
• Beeston Primary School, Leeds
  
• Gusford Primary School, Ipswich
  
• Brighton and Hove High School, Brighton
  
• Armstrong Primary School, Armagh
  
• Gwyrosydd School, Swansea
  
• Dovelands Primary School, Leicester
  
• Ashton Gate Primary School, Bristol
  
• Byker Primary School, Newcastle
  
• Ayresome Primary School, Middlesbrough
  
• Thornhill School, Sunderland
  
• Putnoe Primary School, Bedford
  
• Harlyn Primary School, Pinner
  
• Highweek Community Primary and Nursery School, Newton Abbott
  
• St John's Primary School, Ayr
  
• Towerbank Primary School, Edinburgh
  
• Pond Meadow School, Guildford
  
• Stella Maris Primary School, Folkestone
  
• Sandgate Primary School, Folkestone
  
• Hallglen Primary School, Falkirk