Edinburgh pupils were evacuated at around 10am on Wednesday morning (November 11)

Police have issued a statement after schools across the country were evacuated due to a “hoax” incident.

Edinburgh pupils were among those to be told to leave their classrooms on the morning of Wednesday, November 11 after a number of schools received “threatening messages”.

Schools were evacuated around 10am, with images from the scene showing pupils gathered on playing fields, including at St Augustine’s RC High School as seen below.

Students at St Augustine's were instructed to wait on the astroturf | Supplied

placeholder image — Students at St Augustine's were instructed to wait on the astroturf | Supplied

It comes weeks after a hoax bomb threat also saw the evacuation of school across the country.

Police Scotland have now issued a statement in which the force says that “threatening messages” were sent to a number of schools across the UK, but that these messages are being treated as “hoaxes”.

You can read the full statement below.

Police Scotland have issued a statement after schools were evacuated due to a “hoax” bomb threat | John Devlin

Police Scotland’s statement in full

Police Scotland said in an update: “On Wednesday, 11 November 2026, threatening messages were sent to a number of schools in Scotland and across the UK.

“These messages were immediately assessed and are being treated as hoaxes. Our enquiries have established that there is nothing to suggest that they represent a credible threat or that there is any wider threat to the public.

“We understand how distressing messages of this nature can be for pupils, parents, carers and school staff, and the concern they can understandably cause.

“Our advice is that there is no requirement to evacuate schools or keep children away from education based solely on the content of the emails. They have been sent widely to distribution lists across the UK and Northern Ireland and our assessment remains that they do not represent a credible threat.

“Police Scotland’s Cyber and Fraud Unit is carrying out extensive enquiries to establish the source of the messages, and officers continue to liaise with law enforcement partners across the UK and internationally.”