Students updated their parents on the situation via text
Howden School in the East Riding of Yorkshire was placed on lockdown on Friday morning.(Image: YorkshireLive)
A secondary school in the East Riding of Yorkshire went into ‘lockdown’ on Friday morning (November 14), with dozens of parents left worried for their children’s safety.
Howden School told worried parents via email that the school had been placed on lockdown at around 10.30am.
Parents have since informed YorkshireLive that students were forced to “barricade doors with metal bars” and “barricade themselves in classrooms” with tables and chairs.
One parent has told the newspaper: “The school was put on lockdown because of a gunman on the school grounds.
“They were forced to barricade themselves in classrooms and put a metal bar to bolt the doors shut.”
A message posted on social media later confirmed the ‘brief’ lockdown.
Speculation on what caused the school to be placed in lockdown had begun to spread far and wide at around midday.
Many students used their phones to keep their family up to date on the situation.
Further updates from the school said “there was no actual threat and was deemed to be a false alarm”.
The full statement read: “This morning a lockdown had to be in place for a short period of time.
“Our lockdown procedures were followed as per our policy. A thorough assessment was completed by the authorities and determined that there was no actual threat and was deemed to be a false alarm.”
A spokesperson for Howden School added: “Our lockdown procedures were followed quickly and calmly and our students remained supervised at all times.
“We understand that situations like this can be unsettling and we want to assure you that the safety and wellbeing of our school community is always our highest priority.”
They added: “We will continue to monitor all students and should you feel your child may need further support please do not hesitate to contact us.”
