School evacuated after being hit by two hoax bomb threats in four days

20 November 2023 , 12:35

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Oaks Park High School has fallen victim to a second hoax bomb threat just days after the first

A south London school has rushed to evacuate students two times in just four days after police carried out an urgent search over a chilling bomb threat.

Oaks Park High School in Carshalton told teachers to immediately take pupils to the playing fields following the bomb claim. They text parents just after 8am this morning (November 20) and wrote: “The police have asked us to evacuate the school this morning after receiving an identical threat as on Friday at the same time.”

Officers gave clearance almost an hour later for students to return to the building and register, confirming the incident as a second hoax. Just one day before the first bomb threat, kids had been told what to do and carried out a practice drill in case of a similar situation unfolding.

An unnamed mum with a 13-year-old boy at the school told MailOnline: “Everything goes through your head... You don't know if it's real or not. Anything that could happen. Imagine if they said to the pupils that you can go in and something happens. I would rather collect my kid from school but you just have to trust the police have done their job.”

Staff at the school praised the behaviour of their pupils in an email sent to parents after the first bomb threat. The message read: “We followed police guidance along with our own protocols and dismissed students in tutor groups, so they could be spoken to - and reassured - before they left the school site. We are extremely proud of the way our students responded today, with maturity and calmness.”

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Met Police have confirmed they have no wider concerns surrounding the incident. A spokesperson said: “Safety cordons were established as a precaution following receipt of a bomb threat at a school on Damson Way, Carshalton at 08:02hrs on Friday 17 November. The building was evacuated whilst a search was carried out. Nothing was found and the incident is being treated as malicious communications. Officers do not have wider safety concerns. There have been no arrests.”

Jake Loader