School bomb scares: Pupils praised for response to evacuation drama
Students in the Black Country have been praised for their response in the aftermath of a series of hoax bomb calls which caused schools to be evacuated.
Four schools were evacuated on Tuesday morning. Calls were made to Oldbury Academy and Bristnall Hall Academy in Oldbury, Holly Lodge in Smethwick and Leasowes High School in Halesowen warning of an immediate threat.
Police say that they did not advise schools to close but that pupils' safety was a 'priority'. Headteachers said evacuating was the 'right thing to do'.
Lessons were interrupted and pupils told to leave as quickly as possible. The schools were searched but no suspicious packages were found.
A West Midlands Police spokesman said: "Following the alerts made directly to the schools, some institutions took the independent decision to evacuate students. At no time did police advise the schools affected or others to close or to change their usual timetable."
On Oldbury Academy's website, headteacher Philip Shackleton praised students.
He said: "The response of our staff and students was excellent. They left our site quickly, calmly and were unflustered despite the considerable disruption to their day. The police also commented how impressed they were with how our students conducted themselves."
Leasowes High School took the decision to reopen in the afternoon after it was confirmed pupils were not in any danger. Headteacher Neil Shaw said: "We received a threat of a bomb and obviously evacuating the school is the right thing to do in the interests of the safety."
