Hoax caller who forced Ross-shire school evacuation 'has been identified', parents told
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PARENTS of pupils evacuated from a Ross-shire secondary school after an alarming phone call threatening harm have been told that police have identified the caller.
The incident on October 30 prompted the full evacuation of teachers, pupils and support staff from Fortrose Academy on the Black Isle.
The Ross-shire Journal revealed last week that police were following "a positive line of enquiry" over the incident which was later put down to being a malicious hoax.
Now parents have been told that the caller has been identified.
Acting head teacher Jacquie Ross said in a letter to parents: "As you are aware, on the 30th of October, we unfortunately received a malicious call that led to the full evacuation of the building and subsequent closure of the school.
"I am pleased to say that the police have been able to identify the caller and are dealing with the situation appropriately. I am very grateful to the police for updating us on the situation and confirming that the call was a ‘prank’, allbeit a very disruptive and poorly judged one.
"On the back of this experience we have updated our Major Incident Plan and will be sharing our procedures with pupils over the coming weeks. We will also have an evacuation practice sometime before the end of term just to ensure all staff and pupils are familiar with the expectations.
"We have been working with Highland Council to ensure we do not encounter the same ICT issues that impacted the sending out of our notification email. We now have a solution to this problem and I can assure you this won’t impact any further communication in the event of an incident.
"Once again, thank you for your support and patience."
