Cooktown State School was locked down on Wednesday after an alleged fight between students escalated. Photo: Sarah Martin.
An alleged fight between two students escalated into a full lockdown of the primary and secondary campuses at Cooktown P-12 State School on Wednesday (25 October).
Parents were given scant and conflicting information about the incident, with one parent reporting a teacher told them the lockdown was only a drill, despite the school sending parents a message confirming the lockdown.
“Cooktown State School. Lockdown occurred today was a high school disruption, no danger to students or staff,” the short message sent to parents the day of the lockdown read.
A Department of Education spokesperson confirmed the school enacted a “precautionary lockdown” at 2 pm in response to what they described as “an escalated non-violent student behaviour incident”.
“The lockdown was carried out in a calm manner and the situation was safely de-escalated by staff,” the spokesperson said.
“Classes resumed as normal at approximately 2:10 pm.
“No staff or students were harmed during the incident – ongoing counselling and support services are available for those who require it.”
