Parents have described the "chaos" after a Northumberland school was forced to close due to a "safety threat". Coquet Community School in Amble was evacuated on Friday following a report of "malicious communications".
Emergency services arrived at the scene and set up a cordon while searches of the building were carried out. As a precaution, the school was initially evacuated and later closed for the whole day while police inquiries continued. In the afternoon, officers said the malicious communication was believed to be a hoax.
Parents describe panic at pickup
Parents received emails explaining "a threat" had been made against the school and their children could be picked up. One parent, who did not wish to be named, told ChronicleLive: "When I got up there it was absolute chaos. Parents were panicking, teachers were trying their best to match the kids up with parents, kids were crying and no one knew what was going on."
Another parent, who went to pick up her daughter, said: "My daughter had just gone to school as normal in the morning but we then got an email saying the school was being evacuated because there was a threat placed at the building. It was very scary."
Police investigate hoax report
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: "Shortly after 9am today (Friday) we were contacted about a report of malicious communications relating to a school on Acklington Road in the Amble area of Northumberland. Emergency services attended the scene and officers have carried out a thorough search of the school premises."
"A small number of officers remain at the site to provide reassurance to staff, pupils and parents. Our investigation remains at an early stage, but we believe the communication to be a hoax report. Enquiries are ongoing."
Headteacher's message to parents
The school's headteacher James Andriot shared this message in the morning: "Dear Parents/ Carers, Further to our earlier message about a threat which was made against the school earlier this morning, As a precaution the school has been evacuated, and pupils moved to the old sports hall. All pupils and staff are safe and well. Northumbria Police are on site but a search of the building will take a number of hours."
"I have therefore taken the decision to close the school for the rest of the day and send pupils home. As the main site is off limits we cannot feed any pupils over lunchtime."
"Clearly the safety of everyone at school is our absolute priority. Pupils can be collected from the old JCSC carpark, where staff will be available to assist."
The new Coquet Community School opened its doors to pupils on September 23. The £47m site replaced the former James Calvert Spence College in Amble and was due to formally open on Friday afternoon.
