Pupils told to stay in classrooms after 'threat'

Police are investigating a "threat" made at a school in Greater Manchester, with pupils being told to stay in their classrooms and widespread confusion about what had happened.

Officers were called to Cedar Mount Academy in Wembley Road, Gorton, after the alarm was raised earlier.

Parents described a flurry of inaccurate information, with initial reports emerging of someone with a knife, a gun, and later - a water pistol.

However, in a statement on Facebook, the school later confirmed it had received a call that was later confirmed by police to be a hoax.

Greater Manchester Police said it had "identified no ongoing risk or threat to anyone in the school".

"We're remaining at the school to provide reassurance as we start to investigate the circumstances behind the reported threat," the force added.

An ambulance was also seen arriving at the school at about 12:25 BST, with a stretcher used to transport someone.

But North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) said this was an unrelated matter and the patient was taken to hospital.

Parent Donna Whelan said "panic and worry" immediately set in when she received a message from her daughter to say the school was in "lockdown".

"Everything runs thorugh your mind because you see these threats nowadays, some of them are real," she said.

"Another girl has messaged her dad saying that someone's in there with a knife and then I'm panicking because then she stopped messaging me for a bit and I'm thinking what's going on in there?"

Whelan said her daughter had sent videos of pupils hiding under tables and huddled in a corner on the floor.

She later received a message from the school which confirmed everyone was "safe and well in the building" and staff were following "precautionary procedures".

She said a police officer had informed parents outside the school that "two kids were fighting, one from this school, one from another school".

"We were informed that someone's come with a gun and now they've found the child and it's a water gun," she said.

Another parent, who only gave her name as Sam, criticised the school for a lack of communication.

"This has been happening since 9:30am," she said.

"They've not really been communicating. They sent us a message about 10:30 saying a situation has happened and the school is in lockdown and that was it.

"We're just getting pictures and messages of children under the tables. It's just been ridiculous."

She said felt parents and pupils had been "failed" and she did not think she wanted her children at the school anymore.

"The school have let me down because I've got my trust in the school - I've got two children here," she said.

"I feel let down."

In its statement, the school said the "safety and wellbeing of our school community remains our highest priority".

It continued: "Following a call confirmed by police to be a hoax from an external source not connected to the school, emergency services attended Cedar Mount Academy on Thursday morning as a precaution.

"The situation was resolved safely."

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