Ellesmere Port school issues statement after 'partial lockdown' incident

The school has said the safety of their students is always their top priority

An Ellesmere Port school has spoken out about its reason for a partial lockdown this morning.

Ellesmere Port Catholic High School was temporarily put on 'partial lockdown' this morning (June 21) after a window was smashed.

Police were called shortly after 10am to reports of concerns for safety at the school on Capenhurst Lane.

The school sent a text message out to parents on Friday morning which read:

"Dear Parents/Guardians.

"Please be aware that due to a minor incident, school has gone into partial lockdown.

"There is no cause for concern. We will keep you all updated."

Rumours circulated on social media shortly after the message, with many users suggesting there was an armed man on the ground of the school.

However Cheshire police confirmed there was no knife involved and the window was smashed in a corridor.

Now the school have issued a statement regarding the reasoning behind it's partial lockdown.

A school spokesperson told CheshireLive: "We followed school procedures as the safety of our students is always our top priority. All students were safe in class.

"Lockdown was a precautionary measure and police were called. Lessons carried on as normal and all students were reassured.

"We have had a number of calls and emails from parents who appreciated that we acted with safeguarding pupils and staff in mind."

The school have recently sent out another message to parents following this morning’s incident which reads:

"There is a very large window at the top of the school which cracked and created a loud bang this morning.

"We called the police who advised that the school and the primary school next door should remain in partial lockdown until they had investigated.

"The window is being replaced as we speak and police are happy that there are no safeguarding concerns.

"Engineers are investigating as to why this happened."

Some users of the Pride in the Port Facebook group criticised the school for the "scaremongering" message which they say had many parents worried over a broken window.

However other users have spoken about the some of the school staff's attention and care to the pupils.

Anyone with any information in relation to the damage is asked to contact Cheshire police on 101, quoting IML 433974.

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