HSC exams 2020: North Sydney Boys evacuated over bomb threat
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has revealed the source of email threats that have forced students at 20 schools across Sydney to evacuate, causing major disruptions to HSC exams.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Email threats that saw 20 schools evacuated across Sydney disrupting HSC exams originated from Eastern Europe, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said.
However a threatening phone call that saw hundreds of North Sydney Boys students rushed from exam rooms is potentially a local copycat attack.
Ms Berejiklian said she received a briefing from Police Commissioner Mick Fuller about the threats on Wednesday night.
“He’s allowed me to confirm that the initial email threats actually emanated from Eastern Europe,” Ms Berejiklian said.
It’s believed a phone call that evacuated North Sydney Boys on Thursday morning was a separate attack.
“The police commissioner is confident that the incident at North Sydney is easier to trace, it was a local phone call (and) the police are already onto it,” the Premier said.
“The police are putting their full weight behind finding the culprit of this morning’s direct threat.”
NSW Police are working with federal authorities in the investigation into the initial emails which may have come from overseas.
“The police will come down on you heavily if anybody poses any threat at all to the safety or the well being of our students,” the Premier said.
“And frankly a threat, even if there’s no intent to carry it out, is directly impacting the safety of our students,” she said.
Earlier, students at North Sydney Boys High School were evacuated after a caller rang the school and said there was a bomb on the premises.
All the students at the school were told to leave the school’s buildings following the call which was received this morning.
It is the third day this week public school students have been forced to evacuate after an encrypted threatening email was sent to at least 19 Sydney schools on Tuesday and north coast schools were evacuated on Wednesday.
Today’s phone call threat would have disrupted students at the school’s modern history exam which was due to begin at 9.25am and also the Information and Digital Technology exam.
Modern history students were able to take the exam at an alternative venue.
In a statement, the NSW Education Standard Authority said 13 students from the school would sit the modern history exam while another two students would sit the French exam off school grounds this afternoon.
“This morning’s exam will start later than scheduled but the students will receive the full amount of time,” a NESA spokeswoman said.
“HSC exams around the state are continuing as scheduled unless students are advised otherwise by their school.
“NESA has rigorous and longstanding processes to make sure students affected by misadventure get a fair result.”
Originally published as HSC exams 2020: North Sydney Boys evacuated over bomb threat