Cambridgeshire Police release statement on email containing ‘threat to schools’ and say they are investigating
Schools across the county have been advised to be extra vigilant following a threatening email against pupils.
The email, which is thought to make threats that include driving into pupils at the start or end of the school day, has been deemed a hoax.
It has been sent out to numerous schools, but it is unclear which have received it. However, there was a suggestion that Guyhirn School was among them, however the Diocese of Ely Multi-academy Trust, which runs the school, confirmed it had not, but added: “we are of course following police advice to be vigilant, as always.
“The safety and wellbeing of our pupils is always our priority. We will continue to monitor the situation, take advice from the relevant authorities and keep parents updated.
“Our pupils are going about their day as normal.”
Policing Fenland and Cambridgeshire Police posted the same statement to social media about the situation and said: “We have been notified of an email which is being circulated to several schools, some of which are in Cambridgeshire.
“Cambridgeshire is not the only county to receive the message, and similar emails have been reported nationally over the past week.
“At this time there is no specific identified threat to schools within our county however local schools have been advised to review their protocols and be vigilant.”
In an update to the post they added: “We are investigating but we believe the email to be a hoax. We will update further once we are in a position to do so.”
It appears, from social media posts, that the email has been sent to generic school email addresses.
Some of the county’s schools have been writing to parents regarding the email, which also included threats to shoot pupils.
One parent shared a letter they had received from the Eastern Learning Alliance, which covers schools in the Cambridge area.
It said: “As a group of schools, we are taking a vigilant approach out of an abundance of caution. Please be reassured that we have robust lockdown procedures in place across all our schools, and this morning, we have worked closely with our heads of school to ensure that all preparations are in place should they be required.”
Other parents were concerned by the fact the email has been “dismissed” as a hoax with one writing on the Fenland Policing page: “everyone plastering over social media, this is likely a hoax. The attackers now know no one believes them so it's the perfect time. Sorry, but we should take these seriously and be proven wrong and not vice versa.”
Another wrote: “Wow Policing Fenland that makes me feel my kids are safe...thanks for post I think.”
There was also a post sharing an email circulated to staff at an early years setting which gave a little more detail of the email including the fact the sender had threatened to enact the atrocity today and describing it “as the most heinous attack on schools the UK has ever seen”.
One parent also posting in response to Policing Fenland’s post asked: “Will there be more police about around school times?”
On Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s Facebook page people were expressing concern about the vagueness of the statement.
One mum said: “My kids have been sent an note/letter/post saying that a car is going to try to plough into as many kids as possible at 3:15, and any kids that try to escape will be shot down. (No mention of which school though)
So as much as these things might be/might not be a hoax, it’s not helping anxiety levels amongst the kids right now! My 14 year old has asked me to meet her after school today because she nervous to walk home alone.”
Another said: “Ok so which schools? Primary? Secondary? You can't just put half a story out and create a panic.”
It appears from other posts that schools are taking action as one parent added: “My children are in primary and I had an email at 8am to say they were putting more staff on playground.”
