The Metropolitan Police have urged pupils not to get involved in so-called 'school wars' fights being promoted on TikTok and Snapchat. Posts circulating on the platforms encourage children aged 11 to 16 to participate in organised fights, with some using images of weapons including knives, compasses and fireworks.
One post advertised a 'north London war' between pupils from four named schools on a 'red side' against four on a 'blue side'. Another promoted a 'Hackney war' with a points system based on harm done to opponents, urging participants to 'be violent'. The Met has asked social media platforms to ban accounts promoting the trend and has been in contact with several London boroughs.
Commander Neerav Patel said: 'We continue to closely monitor online spaces and have worked with platforms to request a dozen social media accounts to be disabled where threats or violence were planned or encouraged.' He warned young people of the serious consequences, including imprisonment and long-term impact on future opportunities.
Several London schools have sent letters to parents about the posts. Fortismere School in Muswell Hill said: 'We are writing to alert you to recent social media activity circulating across various parts of London that encourages young people to take part in so called “tagging” or “schools wars”–style games.' Graveney School in Tooting said it would deploy security measures, including searching students if necessary.
Some pupils have expressed scepticism about the posts, with one year 10 pupil telling the Metro: 'People are just trying to fearmonger parents … any teenager with common sense would not meet somewhere where the police have been told about and bring a weapon.' Snapchat has taken down posts inciting violence, while TikTok has removed content violating its community guidelines.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he had raised the issue at the highest levels of government, writing underneath one post: 'Hope parents are clear with their children that we’ll come down on this sort of behaviour like a ton of bricks.'
