STUDENTS and staff at Singleton High School were evacuated on Wednesday afternoon after an anonymous tip, the school said in a statement on its social media accounts.
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Two HSC exams were interrupted as a result of the evacuation, and students were sent home via normal travel arrangements, Principal Jo Scott said.
The reports came after 30 schools were targeted by online threats that disrupted students sitting their HSC biology exam on Wednesday morning.
"Students were allowed to go home via normal travel arrangements as it was the end of the school day. After Police gave approval staff returned to the school prior to going home," Principal Scott said in a statement.
"The TAFE elected to evacuate and two HSC exams were disrupted by this incident. The school is supporting those students in consultation with the NSW Education Standards Authority which runs the exams. The school was in contact with the exam convenor throughout."
Students and parents of Singleton High have been advised school will return as normal on Thursday.
The Newcastle Herald understands that Merriwa Central School was also included in Wednesday's attack, which marks the second day schools had been the target of threatening emails after several Sydney locations received bomb threats on Tuesday.
Schools enacted their emergency response plans, which included evacuations, causing significant disruptions to students and staff members, NSW police said.
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Local officers, assisted by specialist police, conducted extensive searches at each of the schools, and no items of interest were found.
Detectives from the Cybercrime Squad have now established Strike Force Rolum to investigate the circumstances and origins of the emails.
Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott warned offenders that a maximum sentence of 10 years incarceration could await them if charged over the attacks.
"We won't allow you to interrupt the future of these thousands of young people," he said in a press conference on Wednesday.
"They have gone through too much in a very, very difficult year.
"We cannot allow this kind of bastard behaviour.
He also told students not to worry about the hoax emails and encouraged them to "dust yourself off and get on with the job".
The NSW Education Standards Authority confirmed the morning's biology exam was interrupted at numerous schools by the emails.
"NESA is continuing to work closely with the school sectors to support HSC students," a statement said.
"NESA has rigorous and longstanding processes to make sure affected students get a fair result."
Where an exam is interrupted for 40 minutes or more at a school, students will be dismissed by the Presiding Officer and affected students will not have to re-sit exam.
Schools can also submit to NESA group applications for illness and misadventure on behalf of affected students.
Secretary of NSW Department of Education Mark Scott described the emails as a disruption and said it was "very disappointing".
He said at least 300 students were forced to evacuate while sitting the biology exam on Wednesday, but many were able to resume their exams.
"Parents and students should appreciate that our schools are overwhelmingly safe places," he said.
"The safety of our students and our staff are our absolute top priority. All schools were deemed to be safe."
Merriwa Central School was contacted by the Herald but was unable to release a statement.
The NSW Education also confirmed that regional high schools were the focus of Wednesday's threatening email.
"The department and NSW Police anticipated there would be further disruption today and were well and truly prepared to respond appropriately. Yesterday all schools were reminded of protocols to ensure they were able to respond promptly should a threatening email be received. The department is working closely with NSW Police and will continue providing support to staff and students as required."
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