Content Warning: Strong language included
Schools have faced safety and security concerns over the past month, as a national social media trend focused on attacking pupils from rival schools has hit South Yorkshire.
The ‘school wars’ trend has seen arrests made across the UK, including in Sheffield and Rotherham, as teenagers are encouraged to carry out different targeted attacks for a sliding points scale.
The schools are grouped into ‘red’ and ‘blue’, who are pitted against each other for organised fights and random attacks, which gain more ‘points’ if they are recorded and posted to social media.
One TikTok post reads: “Rules: if u see another opp it’s on sight weapons: ruler, comb, compass n punchs” (sic).
Each ‘weapon’ carries more points, with a compass’s sharp point scoring higher than a simple punch, as the same post says: “Shank your opp – 30 points”.
Many schools have sent out information, leaving many parents to turn to Facebook to air their concerns and opinions.
“She’s not leaving my sight,” said one parent, Mary Gonnelly, who kept her daughter at home because of the circulating rumours of a scheduled fight.
Whilst this opinion was echoed by many on Facebook, some parents were far more dismissive with John Michael referring to the concern as a “bullsh*t rumour”, despite the fact that South Yorkshire Police increased patrols around local schools.
According to an update from Inspector Richard Mangham, officers have been active in monitoring social media and carrying out intelligence checks to identify those behind posts encouraging violence.
Another local parent, Alison Beverley, said that she was not keeping her children at home or making changes to their routines despite the threats
She said: “This is all scaremongering and social media related, we all had school rivalry it was just never broadcast anywhere.
“Half of the parents are to blame for not monitoring what their children are doing on social media.”
Penistone Grammar School forwarded a letter to all Barnsley parents from Inspector Mangham which outlined that along with Barnsley Council wardens, officers were carrying out high-visibility patrols.
As well as identifying and shutting down responsible accounts, it is hoped these measures will help to put an end to the “irresponsible and dangerous trend.”
