St Colman’s Primary School principal said email bomb threat was 'a very serious concern' with 400 children and 80 staff at Lambeg site
The principal of St Colman’s Primary School in Lambeg has said the email bomb threat it received on Monday morning gave a “very worrying start” to the day.
Stephen Baine was speaking after an email was sent to some 300 schools across Northern Ireland claiming there was a bomb in the school receiving it.
After contacting the PSNI, the school was advised to treat the threat as a worst-case scenario and the 400 school pupils were evacuated from the building.
He said: “Approximately 8.50am, arguably the busiest time of the school day, the school, and I suspect many other schools, received an email threat of an explosive device placed somewhere within the school premises, with a further threat of repeated attacks throughout the the country.
"Very worrying start to the day, a very serious concern, particularly when you have 400 children and 80 staff on site.
"The school immediately went into its emergency response, contacted PSNI for guidance, and we dealt with a very helpful call handler from PSNI, who advised the school that we should immediately go into our emergency procedures and treat the threat as a worst-case scenario.
"Our school responded immediately with an evacuation. The children were brought out of the classroom safely onto the back of the school site. Parents were informed and came within 30 to 40 minutes and collected the children, and removed the children from the school site to allow safety measurements to be put in place. A very coordinated response.
"A very sad day, particularly. The children hardly got 15 minutes of learning today before they were brought out and taken home by their parents.
"A very sad day for our society that so many disruptions are in place because of these threats. But very proud of how the school reacted. Very proud of my children, and the mature and very sensible response, and a big thank you to our parents who, as they always do, supported the school by coming and removing the children very promptly and efficiently.
The PSNI have confirmed they are treating the threatening emails sent to schools across Northern Ireland as a hoax.