Mass school evacuations across UK after ‘large number’ of bomb threats

The email was headed 'death is near'

Numerous schools in Scotland and Northern Ireland were evacuated this morning, as per reports from the Mirror, following threats sent by email headed "death is near".

As a result, police launched an urgent investigation with pupils being sent home.

The Education Authority (EA) in Northern Ireland said that "a large number of schools" were sent the threat.

The Police Force of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said in a statement: “Police received reports today, Wednesday 11th November, of a concerning email sent to a number of schools across Northern Ireland.

"As a result of this email, police are conducting urgent enquiries, and liaising with the schools in question. An update will be provided in due course."

Police Scotland subsequently said that the bomb threats are being treated as hoaxes, with no evidence to make the threat credible.

They added that schools do no need to evacuate or keep students away from classrooms based on just the emails.

Investigations are now ongoing to identify the source of the messages.

A statement from Police Scotland read: "On Wednesday, 11 November 2026 threatening messages were sent to a number of schools in Scotland and across and 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."