Coquet Community School in Amble will reopen on Monday after a malicious communication, believed to be a hoax, led to the evacuation of pupils. Police searched the new secondary school for several hours on Friday and found nothing of concern.
Evacuation and police search
Police were called to the school on Friday morning and pupils were sent home. Students were evacuated to the site of the former school nearby before being collected by parents and carers. The school remained closed for the day while officers carried out a search of the building.
Headteacher James Andriot said the evacuation followed information from police regarding a "potential safety threat" in the new building. He said a threat had been made against the school and that all pupils and staff were safe and well.
Update from headteacher
Mr Andriot later confirmed that police had spent much of the day on site and, following a thorough search, nothing of concern was found. He said the school would resume as normal on Monday, 19 October, with the Year 13 trip and sports fixture going ahead as planned.
In a message to parents and carers, he thanked pupils for acting with "great maturity and calmness" and apologised for the disruption, adding: "You will understand safety has to be our absolute priority." He also thanked colleagues who "acted professionally, calmly and they put the safety of the pupils first" and invited anyone with concerns to contact the school.
Police and council response
Northumbria Police said they were contacted shortly after 9am about a report of a malicious communication relating to the school. A spokesperson said a small number of officers remained at the site to provide reassurance and that the investigation was at an early stage, but they believed the communication to be a hoax report.
Councillor Guy Renner-Thompson, Cabinet Member for Children's Services at Northumberland County Council, said he was "enormously relieved" that all pupils and staff were safe and thanked the headteacher, school staff and police for their response. He had been due to attend the official opening ceremony of the new building that afternoon.
Parent reactions and ambulance response
One parent described the scene as "absolute chaos", with parents panicking, children crying and teachers trying to match pupils with parents. Another parent, Jane, said her 15-year-old son was in the middle of a mock exam when he was evacuated, and described the situation as worrying. A third parent called the incident "very scary".
The North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) was called to the school to support police and was stood down at 4pm. A spokesperson said one ambulance crew, two HART crews, one duty officer and three senior officers were dispatched and stood down by police at 4pm.
The new purpose-built school has been open for around three weeks. The previous secondary school, James Calvert Spence College, formerly Coquet High School, closed last month, and pupils transferred to the new school when it opened on September 23.
