LEASOWES High School in Halesowen was open as usual today (Friday September 13) after going into ‘lockdown’ late yesterday amid reports of two people outside carrying knives.
Police were called to the school on Kent Road just before 3pm on Thursday September 12.
Officers arrived and arrested two boys, aged 14, on Hollies Drive shortly afterwards and a weapon was recovered with the help of police dogs.
The pair were taken into custody on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon.
Meanwhile, Leasowes High was put into ‘lockdown’ with pupils prevented from leaving although this only lasted for around 45 minutes and the school re-opened as usual today.
A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: “During the incident, we liaised with the school to ensure the safety of everyone involved.”
A spokesperson for Leasowes High School said of the drama: “Just before lessons finished yesterday, we were notified that two individuals wearing balaclavas and potentially carrying a weapon were seen near to the school. We contacted police, and following discussions with them made the decision that we needed to take some precautionary measures to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our students.
“Given that students were just getting ready to leave, we decided the easiest thing to do would be to follow our lock down procedure. While we appreciate that the term ‘lockdown’ sounds very dramatic, this is something that we practice like a fire alarm drill at the school. Students and staff should be praised for how calmly they handled the situation. They followed the procedure perfectly, and remained calm throughout. The support they also showed one another was also heartening to see.
“We continued to speak to police throughout all of this, and concluded the lockdown procedure as soon as we were notified that it was safe to do so. Students were let out around 45 minutes after the school day should have finished.
“I appreciate the situation would have been concerning for parents standing at the school gate, and also that there might have been some knock-on consequences from the students coming out later than usual. Please be assured that we simply wanted to do everything we could to protect our young people – and we were working tirelessly in the building to provide any support that was needed.”
West Midlands Police said today that the two boys arrested have been bailed, pending further enquiries.
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact police on 101 or via Live Chat on the force website, quoting log 2653 of September 12.
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