A number of students aged between 11 and 16 have been rushed to hospital after collapsing at a school in North Yorkshire. Fire crews believe a "ripple effect" caused the incident.

Emergency services were called to Outwood Academy School on Clotherholme Road at around 12:30pm GMT on Wednesday after staff members witnessed a group of children lose consciousness.

North Yorkshire police believe the incident occurred between 11am and 11.30am.

The school is working with fire and ambulance services to establish what caused the students to collapse.

Outwood Academy student Olivia Craft told ITV News students began to feel unwell during the minute's silence taking place to commemorate Armistice Day. She said students started to collapse just after 11am.

According to the Daily Mirror, emergency services are now investigating a suspected gas leak at the school, which could have caused the students to collapse. Car bonnets in the area are being searched.

Fire crews said no hazardous substances were found, but said the hall where the children fell ill was warm.

"We are of the view the children just fainted and there was a ripple effect throughout the school. More children felt anxiety and started to feel concerned and the thing has escalated," Yorkshire Fire Service's station manager Dave Winspear said when speaking outside the school.

"We have carried out a very thorough assessment and found no hazardous materials or anything untoward in the school environment."



In a statement, Yorkshire Ambulance Service said up to 40 children are now being treated after suddenly falling ill at the school.

"We dispatched a number of resources to the scene including a doctor, three ambulance crews, two rapid response vehicles, a number of Clinical Supervisors and our Hazardous Area Response Team," it said.

"Up to 40 students are currently being treated on scene, but we have not conveyed any patients to hospital at this stage.

"The cause of the incident is unknown and emergency service colleagues from North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service are at the school carrying out investigations."

They displayed signs of sickness and feeling faint, North Yorkshire Police said.

One police officer told ITV news: "The safety of all the students and staff at the school is paramount and officers are working with the fire and ambulance services to establish what has caused the students to collapse."


In a statement, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue service said: "Hazardous Materials Specialist Officers, a specialist detection, identification and monitoring (DIM) team from West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, is also at the incident.

"A number of students have been affected who have displayed signs of sickness and feeling faint. Some have been attended to by paramedics at the scene and others have been taken to hospital.

"We are working with colleagues from North Yorkshire Police and Yorkshire Ambulance Service at this time to determine what has caused this occurrence."

Julian Smith, Conservative MP for Skipton and Ripon, said he has been "assured" the situation is under control at the school, adding he is doing "everything I can" to help.


"Education secretary has been in touch to offer her department's help and support to @outwoodripon," he said on Twitter.

Outwood Academy accommodates more than 600 students. The school was rated "good" in its 2012 Ofsted inspection.

Paragraph 6: car bonnets are being searched.

Is this just a typo, or is there some known link between car bonnets and passing out? ;)

I saw this news earlier, strange isnt it?

At least 2 more people in the hospital, came in as walkins.


I think.. It is possibly WiFi sickness...

Is WiFi harming our health? A Stroud conference looks for answers | Stroud Life- UK

http://www.stroudlife.co.uk/wifi-harming-health-Stroud-conference-looks/story-28149611-detail/story.html/

"She explained that there is evidence that the non-ionising radiation emitted by wifi affects our central nervous system, and could cause nausea, headaches and other symptoms."

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Fainting is also a symptom of WiFi sickness. And parents in the US & UK are trying to get it banned or lowered in schools, by only using plug in computers. Many law suits now.
There is also a town here in Virginia that is completely WiFi free for zero tolerance people.

What an incredibly unique way to ditch school.

either they know something that they're not saying, or they just wanted to search the trunks... police do illegal searches like that over here all the time...

Bees in their bonnets ????

Maybe a car left running near an open window? Pop the hood (bonnet) to see maybe if someone had a leaky exhaust manifold?

Carbon monoxide poisoning you'd expect more kids passing out, vomiting, blue fingernails due to lack of oxygen, impaired decision making on the part of the adults, etc.

Story says they deployed a HAZMAT unit, so they should have been able to 'sniff' mechanically for it with detection equipment.

Schools have been terror targets over the last 40 years. Over 3,000 attacks on schools in 110 countries since 1970. These 'attacks' range from simple arson to looting, and even missile strikes and armed occupation by security forces or insurgent attacks.

Could it have been a 'recon' of the school to see generally how first responders would deploy, and how quickly? Wouldn't be the first time.

Security forces in Israel and coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan became targets of secondary attacks when responding to primary incidents. A device would be detonated, or an armed attack initiated. Lookouts would then wait for 15-20 minutes as scores of first responders flooded the area. Once the desired 'density' of personnel was present, a second and more powerful device would be detonated killing and wounding emergency workers and security forces.

I would check CCTV recordings in the area for someone sitting in a vehicle or standing on a street corner checking their watch before the first emergency vehicle arrives. Maybe check cell tower records for text messages that could be construed as a 'go' code or a 'mission successful' message.

^^^^ Most obvious explanation....or,maybe, a buncha sheltered 21st century kids see an ACTUAL fainting, and it gets contagious....with the accompanying attention n all...

Maybe.. It has nothing to do with the children.
Maybe someone wanted them & the staff out of the building.

Maybe someone wanted the cops busy or distracted.

Maybe this was a drill.

i blame obama....

why didn't Ferris Buehler think about that one?