Edinburgh high school closed after 'suspicious item' confirmed to be a toy
A “suspicious item” was confirmed by police to be a toy
An Edinburgh high school has been closed for the rest of the day after a “suspicious item” later confirmed to be a toy was discovered.
The discovery of the item at Queensferry High School came shortly after students were forced to evacuate their classrooms due to a “hoax” bomb threat emailed to schools across the country.
A council spokesperson confirmed that the item was “separate and unrelated to the hoax”.
Police were dispatched to the South Queensferry school at 10.40am to assess whether the “possible ordnance” posed a risk.
Despite the all-clear, the school will remain closed for the rest of the day before reopening as normal tomorrow.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: ““The item has been assessed and is a toy. There is no wider risk to the school community or to the public.
“This incident is unrelated to the threatening messages which were sent to a number of schools on Wednesday, which is being investigated separately.”
Pupils elsewhere have since been allowed to return to class after Police Scotland announced that the emails “do not represent a credible threat”.
The schools were evacuated at 10am on Wednesday, November 11, with some schools deciding to let pupils go home.
They added: “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.”
“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.”
Regarding the South Queensferry incident, the council spokesperson told the Evening News: “Queensferry High School was closed this afternoon following the discovery of a suspicious item on school premises.
“Police Scotland assessed the item and it was confirmed to be a toy. The school will open as usual tomorrow.”
The police confirmed their officers were liaising with partners at the school following the incident.