The school was put into lockdown after it received a threatening phone call
A schoolgirl texted her mum to say she was sat in her school sports hall in the dark after her school went into lockdown. Co-Op Academy in Bebington was put into lockdown on Wednesday, September 25 after a threatening phone call was made to the school.
Merseyside Police confirmed it received a report that someone had called the school and made threats at around 11.10am. The school issued a statement, seen by the ECHO, to parents and carers which said: “The school is in lockdown as we have had a threatening phone call. Police are on their way. DO NOT COME TO THE SCHOOL. We will keep you updated. Everyone is safe.”
One pupil told the ECHO how teachers turned off all the lights and locked the doors as pupils were told to hide following the incident. She said: “We were lining up for PE and then the alarm went off.
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“They turned all the lights off and we had to sit against the back wall in the sports hall, but there were 100 of us in there because they brought all the kids in from the hallway. It went on for about 45 minutes to one hour, we just sat there.
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“The teacher got an email to say the police were here. Ten minutes later they told us to go to lessons, they said it was all done.”
The pupil’s mum, who does not want to be named, said she could feel the “fear” in her daughter’s voice as she contacted her to tell her what happened. She said: “My daughter texted me saying ‘mum have you read your emails.’ I checked them and saw we had an email to say the school had gone into lockdown and we were told not to come to the school.
“They sent a number of emails telling us everyone was safe and that lockdown procedures have been lifted. It is scary, I could hear the fear and worry in her voice, she keeps saying the alarm keeps going off. I think there will be a lot of students very confused about what’s happened, I know they locked down fast but they haven’t been told much.”
Another parent said: “My daughter said she was scared and asked if we could come and pick her up. All we have been told is that the school is on lockdown and everyone is safe. The head mistress just spoke to us and said everyone is completely safe but we’ve come for our daughter because she asked us too and she is very shaken up.”
A spokesperson for the academy said: “The school was put into lockdown earlier today after it received a threatening phone call. The police arrived immediately and, after investigation, confirmed that this was an incident of malicious communications.
”Within half an hour, the school was back to normal with students continuing with their lessons. We always take incidents like this very seriously and the police have commended our rigorous policies and procedures.”
Merseyside Police said in a statement: ”We can confirm that we are investigating an incident of malicious communications reported by Co-op Academy Bebington this morning, Wednesday 25 September. At around 11.10am, we received a report that someone had called the school and made threats.
”Officers attended the school and all staff and children are safe and well. Officers will remain at the school this afternoon to provide reassurance and inquiries are ongoing into the incident.”
