Scots school evacuated on day of bomb threats because heating broke
Pupils were evacuated from a Scottish school on the day bomb threats were made across the country - because the heating in the building broke.
Children at Ayrshire's Ardrossan Academy were sent home after parents received texts and emails about the heating system having failed.
Parents and guardians were sent text messages and app notifications to tell them their children were being sent home.
It came on Monday, as schools across the country were evacuated because of the bomb threats.
The letter said: "Due to an issue with the school heating system, we have been advised that the school should close to pupils for the remainder of today (Monday 19th Oct).
"We ask that parents/carers make arrangements for pupils to return home where possible.
"Any pupil who cannot be accommodated home, will be supervised in a warmer part of the school.
"Please contact the school as soon as possible if this applies to your child.
"West Kilbride pupils who travel by school bus and/or any pupil who travels by taxi will be accommodated in a warmer part of school for the rest of the day.
"We will provide a further update as soon as possible regarding arrangements for tomorrow. Thank you for your understanding."
Some parents believed they had been told it was a heating system problem as an excuse, so as not to alarm them over the potential bombs.
One said: "As soon as I heard they were sending the kids home I just assumed it was a ruse and to do with the bomb threats, because I had already seen that on the news.
"But once my daughter came home she said it had been freezing and that they'd been told to keep their jumpers and jackets on.
"Such a coincidence that it happened on the same day. They later told us it had been fixed and the kids were fine to go back the next day."
It said: "The issues we had this morning with the heating are now resolved and pupils can return to school as normal tomorrow.
"Thanks for making arrangements at short notice today. We are looking forward to seeing all pupils back tomorrow."
In relation to the bomb threats, a North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “We can confirm that a number of our schools received malicious communications which have been deemed not credible.
“We are liaising with Police Scotland who are currently investigating similar incidents across the country.”
When asked about Ardrossan Academy, the spokesperson added: "It was indeed a heating issue – completely unrelated to the hoax emails which were sent."
A number of schools across Scotland were evacuated as police launched an investigation into the incidents.
The Scottish Government said it was informed of the bomb threats.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "On Monday, 19 October, 2026, threatening messages were sent to a number of schools across Scotland.
"These messages have been assessed and are being treated as a hoax, with nothing to suggest any threat to the public.
"Officers and staff from Police Scotland's Cyber and Fraud Unit are working closely with partners and are continuing to carry out extensive inquiries to establish the source."
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