Around 1,000 schools in Scotland received threatening emails on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, in a wave of hoax messages that also reached schools across the UK and Northern Ireland. Police Scotland said the messages are not credible and pose no wider risk to the public.

Some schools in Edinburgh and the Lothians, Inverclyde, Glasgow and Perth were evacuated after the messages arrived on Wednesday morning, before pupils were established to be safe and allowed to return to class.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Sutherland said: "Earlier today, around a thousand Scottish schools received a threatening email message. These were also sent to schools across the UK."

He added: "These messages were immediately assessed and we are treating them 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."

Police say children should stay in school

Police Scotland said there is no requirement to evacuate schools or keep children away from education based solely on the content of the emails. The messages were sent widely to distribution lists across the UK and Northern Ireland, and the force said its assessment remains that they do not represent a credible threat.

Sutherland said police understand how distressing messages of this nature can be for pupils, parents, carers and school staff, and the concern they can understandably cause.

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.

Councils reassure parents after second incident

Edinburgh Council has reassured parents after the latest threatening message was sent to schools. Jackie Reid, the council's service director for education, skills and chief education officer, wrote to parents to share her relief at Police Scotland's findings.

She acknowledged that the message had caused alarm and distress among parents and pupils, especially as this is the second incident of this kind in recent weeks, but said the council's top priority is keeping children safe.

In her letter, she said: "Police Scotland have assessed the messages and confirmed that they are not credible and being treated as a hoax. While this is of course a relief to us all, I fully appreciate that hearing about this is alarming and distressing, particularly given it is the second incident of this nature in recent weeks."

She added that the council would always act quickly and in line with its procedures to make sure schools remain safe, and that there is no need to keep children off school. The council said it continues to work closely with Police Scotland, the Scottish Government and sector bodies, and that there is no current indication that any extra or new protocols are required beyond those already in place.

Threats also reached Northern Ireland and Ireland

In Northern Ireland, more than 300 schools received a threatening email that police are treating as a hoax. The Department of Education advised schools to remain open unless otherwise advised by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and police said the email originated outside the country.

Police in the Republic of Ireland said they were aware of a generic communication sent to a number of educational establishments. The latest threat follows a hoax bomb threat sent to schools in Northern Ireland and Scotland last month.

Similar emailed threats were also reported in Italy on the same day, where at least 300 schools were evacuated, according to reports. It is unclear whether the incidents in different countries are connected, and police in Scotland have not said the UK messages are linked to any other incident.