Doncaster school chief blasts ‘blatant lies’ over pupil’s weapons threat

The chief of a Doncaster school boycotted by parents and pupils over claims a student was threatening a stabbing and shooting spree has hit out over misinformation and ‘blatant lies’ spread online - and urged people not to speculate and share false information.

A number of parents have kept their children away from Hungerhill School in Edenthorpe todayafter a pupil reportedly made online threats to ‘shoot and stab’ fellow students.

Gareth Rawson, Chief Executive Officer or Brighter Futures Learning Partnership Trust, the group which looks after the school, has issued a lengthy statement addressing the claims.

He said: ”I appreciate that some of these posts will have caused concern for parents and carers, and I want to make sure that you have an accurate account of the situation rather than relying on information being shared on social media.

“The Trust and the school became aware of a rumour concerning a social media post allegedly shared by students which included references to weapons.

“Having looked into the information available, there was no reference to a threat being made against any particular student, nor was there any suggestion that weapons were being brought into school, as has since been claimed in some social media posts.

“Some posts have gone further and claimed that people have seen threats being made, including threats to specifically attack another student.

“Neither the Trust nor the school has been made aware of any such specific threat.

“If you have seen or received messages or posts containing this type of information, I would ask you to share them with the school as soon as possible.

“We will ensure that any evidence of a threat is passed directly to the police. I want to be absolutely clear that we would take any threat to a student or member of our school community extremely seriously and would expect to be made aware of it.

“It has also been reported that a list of students allegedly being targeted has been published on TikTok.

“The Trust and the school are not aware of any such list and have not been provided with any evidence of its existence.

“If you have seen this post or have access to this information, I would strongly urge you to report it immediately to both the police and the school so that it can be investigated and appropriate action taken.

“Please do not simply share or circulate this information further.

“The Headteacher has been clear that, based on the information available to the school, they perceived there to be no risk to students or staff.

“However, given the concerns being raised and the speculation circulating, the Trust and the school have contacted the police to establish whether there is any further information or intelligence that we need to be aware of.

“We will continue to take any information shared with us seriously and, where appropriate, pass it to the police for further investigation.

“There are also a number of other claims circulating which I want to address directly.

“Posts have stated that the police attended Hungerhill School on 12 November 2026 and that a Year 10 student was arrested.

“This is simply not true. The police have not visited the school in relation to this matter and, to our knowledge, no student has been arrested.

“Claims that there will be a police presence at the school today are also untrue. Similarly, a parent has commented that a student has received an eight-week suspension. This is also incorrect.

“I am increasingly concerned about the number of allegations and claims being made about individual students, some of which are simply untrue. The spreading of blatant lies, speculation and unsubstantiated accusations is not harmless.

“It can have a significant impact on the students being discussed, their families and the wider school community.

“We must not allow misinformation to result in students being wrongly accused or targeted themselves. There is a responsibility on all of us to establish the facts before repeating or sharing information, particularly when it involves children.

“I appreciate how quickly rumours can spread, particularly through social media. They can also change considerably as they are passed from one person to another, with speculation eventually being repeated as fact.

“I would ask parents to think carefully before sharing information that has not been verified, as this can cause unnecessary anxiety for children and families.

“I also want to address comments suggesting that the Trust or the school would sweep matters under the carpet or deliberately withhold information from parents. I find these comments particularly disappointing and will not accept suggestions that the Trust does not take its responsibilities seriously.

“This academic year, the Trust has taken the decision to close schools in response to high temperatures and a potential gas leak.

“On both occasions, we received a mixture of responses from parents.

“While many were supportive and understood the reasons behind the decisions, there was also negativity and criticism.

“That is something I recognise comes with making difficult decisions, but I want to be clear that I would make exactly the same decisions again. My responsibility as CEO is to keep children and staff safe, and that will always come before concerns about how a decision might be received.

“If I had any information that led me to believe students or staff were at risk, I would not hesitate to take whatever action was necessary, including closing a school if appropriate. I would much rather face criticism for taking precautionary action than fail to act when there was a genuine risk to the safety of our school communities.

“The Trust and the school take safeguarding extremely seriously. We will always investigate concerns, work with the police and other relevant agencies where necessary, and take appropriate action to protect our students and staff. I hope the actions we have taken demonstrate that we are not dismissing concerns, but equally that we will not allow speculation and misinformation to dictate our response.

“I understand that parents will naturally want reassurance that their children are safe. As a Trust, we share that responsibility and take it very seriously. I would ask that, if you have genuine concerns or information that may be relevant, you contact the school directly. This allows us to establish the facts and take action where necessary, rather than allowing rumours to continue circulating unchecked.

The incident comes after hundreds of schools across the country were targeted with hoax bomb threats earlier this week.

At least 1,000 schools received the hoax email, though police and the government said there was nothing within them to suggest a credible threat.

Specialist cyber-crime officers are working to identify the source of the messages, which were sent to both primary and secondary schools.

Schools in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Italy were all targeted in the hoax.