Friday, February 27th, should have been like any other day at secondary schools in Southwark and Croydon in south London. But instead, when lessons finished for the day around 3pm, large numbers of teachers positioned themselves on the streets around their schools as children made their way home.

In some places, after-school detentions were cancelled so pupils could get home as early as possible. There were police officers present too in some places, and they had at their disposal dispersal orders that would allow officers to order any young people gathered to leave a particular area.

The prompt was concerned over a series of social media posts that called for ‘red v blue’ wars between schools across the city. The posters began encouraging battles between students in the capital and seemed to begin circulating on TikTok and Snapchat. Copycat versions were subsequently shared about schools in Bristol, Cardiff, and the West Midlands. The posters – one half red, one half blue – often feature images of people in balaclavas, weapons, and lists of different school names listed on either side. In theory, fights were due to happen in South London that afternoon, hence the presence of teachers and police.

Read More