The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Fife pupils recognised for Arctic exploration.
GROVE: Concerns on social media, and claim over planned last-day pranks
An end-of-year “prank” at a Dundee secondary school resulted in police having to speak to a pupil following rumours of a “bomb threat”.
Police had to step in after a number of concerns circulated on social media that a pupil at Grove Academy had made several serious threats about making a “bomb”.
Following inquiries, police said the matter was “dealt with” and there is no threat to the school.
The Grove Academy Twitter account acknowledged the threat rumours and confirmed the school had spoken with “outside agencies”.
In an online statement, the school said: “We are aware of the situation on social media regarding today and have been taking the appropriate steps.
“We have been liaising with all relevant outside agencies. Please be reassured that we are doing all we can to deal with this situation.”
One young pupil at the school said: “Some of my friends were actually scared to go to school because everybody was talking about this bomb threat.
“There were loads of posts going about saying a boy had been planning to make a bomb and had mapped out the school with all the exits marked and everything. Everybody at the school was going on about it.”
Parents took to Twitter in response to the school’s message to criticise it for being vague and call for clarification.
One said: “Well if any parents weren’t worried they will be now by this vague statement full of the usual officialese jargon.
“If you have something to say, be precise or say nothing at all.”
It follows reports sixth-year pupils were told they were not allowed to leave the library because of a number of planned pranks pupils were due to carry out on their last day.
One sixth-year pupil, who requested not to be named, said pupils on their last day at the school had been confined to the library so as not to cause any trouble.
The pupil said: “No sixth years are allowed to leave the library.”
They added the pupils had planned on filling a teachers room with balloons, but when they arrived on Friday morning they discovered all the balloons had been “popped”.
A spokesman for Dundee City Council denied pupils would ever be “locked” in the school library and said sixth-year pupils would be there between classes at their own choice.
A police spokesperson said: “We are aware of comments circulating on social media. The individual involved has been spoken with, and the matter has been dealt with.”