BOY, 15, AND MAN IN 20S ARRESTED OVER 'SCHOOL WARS' CRAZE
A teenager and a man in his 20s have been arrested for allegedly organising fights between school children, fuelled by a social media craze.
The Metropolitan Police said it detained the pair on Sunday on suspicion of encouraging or assisting a crime. They were both bailed pending further enquiries.
Social media posts divided schools in London into either red or blue teams and warned students to prepare for “war”, in some cases using weapons.
Schools across the capital have stepped up security as a result, escorting students part of the way home following an upturn in the craze.
The online trend has prompted Scotland Yard to increase officer numbers in certain boroughs and head teachers to warn parents about the posts.
Last week, St Dunstan’s College in Catford, south-east London, sent an email to parents after being named in a “school wars” post, saying some students who had seen the post were “feeling worried about leaving school”. It said teachers would escort pupils to bus stops and train stations.
The email said: “The content suggests that senior school pupils in London are being encouraged to score points for their ‘team’ by attacking pupils from opposing ‘teams’, with more ‘points’ being awarded if sharp objects are used.”
‘Strong police presence’
The first known “school wars” post split eight schools in Hackney into “red” and “blue” sides and encouraged pupils to use compasses, metal combs and rulers when fighting.
It emerged days after a 13-year-old boy allegedly stabbed two pupils at a north London school.
Since then, posts encouraging student violence have spread to Redbridge, Greenwich, Bromley and Croydon, and beyond the capital to schools in Bristol and Northamptonshire.
Some posts have suggested a point system based on the harm inflicted on opponents. One said that to “punch an opp” would result in 20 points, and recording it would count as “10 bonus points”.
A Met Police spokesman said: “A strong police presence remains around schools, particularly at the end of the school day.”
“Local officers continue to work alongside local authority partners, school leaders and parents, whose joint robust response has been vital in protecting young people across the last week.”
2026-03-05T14:25:41Z