Lockdowns at several Gateshead schools a result of 'communication breakdown' over threatening hoax emails

Multiple schools across the borough received malicious and threatening emails in the early hours of March 6, 2025. The emails sparked safeguarding protocols with the police being contacted.

Cardinal Hume Catholic School and Glynwood Primary entered into voluntary lockdowns, preventing pupils from being able to leave their campuses, as a precaution.

However, it has now emerged that the lockdowns were the result of the schools not receiving confirmation of a hoax. Similar emails had also been sent to schools in Halifax and Birmingham the day before, with one Midlands school entering lockdown.

Gateshead Council’s emergency planning report states: “The recipient schools contacted Northumbria Police to report the issue and seek advice. A breakdown in the communication chain resulted in the schools not being contacted to confirm it was a hoax, which resulted in some schools activating their own lockdown plans and sending out their own communications to parents.”

Both Gateshead Council and Northumbria Police issued statements on the day stating there was no credible threat to the schools, lockdowns were not needed, and urging for calm.

Other schools also announced on the day they were not in lockdown including Crookhill Primary School and The Lord Lawson Academy. By the following day the local authority confirmed all schools were open as normal.

A Gateshead Council spokesperson said: “On March 6 a number of schools in Gateshead received perceived threats via email and took the appropriate safeguarding action as per their procedures. It was identified via a subsequent incident debrief that the multi-agency reporting and escalation process for this type of incident required clarifying.

“This has now been included in a school site-based counter terrorism plan template for all Gateshead schools for reference in future incidents of this nature.”

Northumbria Police also confirmed it was part of the multi-agency debrief and was involved in the consultation of the procedures which are now in place.