Parents Alarmed as School Wars Posts Urge Pupils to Gather and ‘Be Violent’
Social media posts this week urging pupils to take part in organised fights have sparked alarm among parents and prompted police and schools to step up action. The school wars material, circulated on TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram, has led to patrols, school communications and requests that accounts be disabled.
Northampton 'Northampton War' poster
A poster promoting a "Northampton War" listed multiple Northamptonshire schools and encouraged teenagers to gather and "be violent. " The image spread widely on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram, but who created it remains unclear. Parents in the area voiced immediate concern: Rebecca Birdsall, a mother of four, said the post left her "terrified" about her children's safety and described a recent scare when, "Yesterday [Wednesday], my son's phone tracking went off and I went into massive panic mode because he was late home and I didn't know where he was. " Birdsall added that the response from her children's school after she informed them was "amazing. "
Northamptonshire Police patrols and warnings
Northamptonshire Police said they were aware of the post and warned that "anyone seen fighting or wielding weapons of any kind will be arrested. " Officers have been visiting schools to speak with students and carrying out "proactive patrols around schools and areas where disorder could occur. " The force linked its activity to the online material, treating the posts as a catalyst for stepped-up on-the-ground policing.
London 'Hackney War' and north London posts
The Northamptonshire material mirrors similar posters seen in London. One called for a "Hackney War" and urged Year 9 pupils from eight schools to meet up with everyday items that were implied could be used as weapons. Another advertised a "north London war" targeting pupils from year seven to 11, pitting four schools on a "red" side against four on a "blue" side. Some images used to promote these gatherings included knives, compasses and fireworks, and other posts suggested a points system based on the harm done to opponents and urged participants to "be violent. " The messages also asked onlookers to film attacks and send footage to the organiser.
Metropolitan Police operations and Commander Neerav Patel
The Metropolitan Police have asked social media platforms to ban accounts promoting "school wars" and said they continue to closely monitor online spaces. Commander Neerav Patel said the force is in contact with several London boroughs to offer reassurance and has worked with platforms to request that a dozen social media accounts be disabled where threats or violence were planned or encouraged. He reminded young people that an arrest, charge and conviction for violence or carrying weapons could lead to imprisonment and have a significant long-term impact on future opportunities. A prior attempt to organise a fight in Hackney had led police to issue a dispersal order.
Schools’ precautions and parents’ concerns
Headteachers have warned parents and sent letters home. Fortismere school in Muswell Hill wrote to parents alerting them to social media activity encouraging so-called "tagging" or "schools wars"-style games and thanked parents who checked their children’s phones and raised concerns. Graveney school in Tooting told parents it would ensure "usual security measures are deployed effectively, including using our ability to search students if necessary. " The police and school communications are a direct effect of the online posts, driven by parental concern and the stated details in the material naming schools and age groups.
TikTok and Snapchat removals and government flagging
Platforms have taken action: Snapchat's internal safety team removed posts inciting violence, and TikTok has been deleting content that violates guidelines forbidding threats, the glorifying of violence, or promotion of crimes that could harm people or property. The Metropolitan Police have formally asked platforms to ban accounts promoting the activity and to disable identified accounts. Health secretary Wes Streeting flagged the issue to colleagues and wrote under one of the posts: "I've raised this at highest levels in government. Hope parents are clear with their children that we'll come down on this sort of behaviour like a ton of bricks. "
Parents and pupils remain split on the threat level: while adults, councillors and police treat the material as a call to organised violence, some pupils are sceptical and view the posts as spoofs. A year 10 pupil questioned the campaign's credibility, saying, "People are just trying to fearmonger parents … any teenager with common sense would not meet somewhere where the police have been told about and bring a weapon. " Michael Stratton, a Reform UK councillor and cabinet member for children, families and education at West Northamptonshire Council, described the post as "incredibly irresponsible and wholly unacceptable" and urged carers to talk with young people about safe choices and avoiding harmful peer pressure.
What makes this notable is the combination of named local schools, explicit encouragement to carry items depicted as weapons, and coordinated online messaging across multiple platforms — a mix that has driven swift police patrols, school security measures and requests for account suspensions in both Northamptonshire and London.
