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Parents in south London have taken time off work to escort their children to school after viral social media posts encouraged pupils to take part in a so-called “school war” between rival schools.
Posts circulating on TikTok and other social media sites appeared to encourage teenagers in places like Harrow, Tooting, Hackney, as well as other cities like Bristol, to “score points” by chasing and attacking pupils from other schools. Some posts included a scoreboard, awarding points for violent acts.
One post encouraged children to “be violent” and suggested using items such as a compass or metal ruler as weapons – though it said knives and girls were not permitted.
The Metropolitan police say they’re closely monitoring online spaces and are working with social media and schools to keep children safe. A schoolboy and a man in his 20s have been arrested in London on suspicion of encouraging or assisting in a crime.
LBC attended what was supposed to be the first “round” of the so-called war at West Croydon bus station, where parents, teachers, community workers, and police had gathered amid concerns violence could break out.
Carolina, an NHS worker, told LBC she had changed her work schedule for several days to ensure her son could travel to school safely.
“There are many parents who decided just to take some time off and just change their work schedule which I did. I didn’t work mornings for the last few days just to make sure to drop my child at school. My husband took two days off just to pick up our son from school as well.
“There’s a lot of parents on drop-off and pick-up time as well. It’s a massive increase.”
Several of the schools mentioned in the posts had sent headteachers or staff members to monitor the area, amid concerns students might gather to confront each other.
Staff told LBC they had also seen a significant increase in pupils absent from class that day.
“I have to say we’re very concerned as parents. As a community as well, we do not want any violence to be escalated.
“We’re just trying to make our children safe.”
Among those at the scene was anti-knife crime campaigner Faron Paul, one of several community workers who had come to help prevent any violence. He said his biggest concern is how quickly misinformation can spread online.
“Social media is instantaneous… you can reach millions in seconds, and all it takes is just the wrong information to get out, or for things to be misconstrued for there to be an issue.”
Asked whether he supported banning social media for under-16s, he said he would not oppose the idea.
“Young people can be naive and impulsive. Social media can be the thing that gets them into the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Labour’s candidate for Mayor of Croydon, Cllr Rowenna Davis, also told LBC she believed the government should move faster on the issue.
“If it were up to me, I’d ban it now," referring to social media use among under-16s.
Despite the online posts, no violence appeared to take place in Croydon on the day.
Many credited the large community presence for helping to prevent tensions escalating.
“Croydon should be proud of itself today,” Cllr Davis said.
Met police Commander Neerav Patel said, “Officers will continue to maintain a strong, visible presence around schools. We will respond robustly to any reports of violence, disorder or planned meet‑ups linked to this trend.
“We continue to closely monitor online spaces and have worked with social media companies to request the removal or disabling of accounts where threats, incitement to violence, or planned confrontations have been identified. “
TikTok declined to comment and LBC received no response from Meta.