The college had to be evacuated while police carried out a thorough comb-through of the campus
Maxine Denton Senior Reporter
17:12, 05 Nov 2025
Police attended St Brendan’s Sixth Form College in Brislington Bristol on Tuesday, November 4(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
A 17-year-old boy has been released on conditional bail following an alleged bomb hoax at a college in Bristol. It follows a major police response to an incident at St Brendan’s Sixth Form College on Tuesday afternoon (November 4).
Firearms officers, the dog unit and specialist search officers were deployed to the college, in Broomhill Road, Bristol, after receiving a call just after 3pm. Upon arrival at the college, officers said they identified the teenager and arrested him on suspicion of a making a bomb hoax.
A CCTV review was completed and the decision was made to conduct a precautionary evacuation of the college. All students and staff were safely escorted off the site while specialist search officers and dogs carried out a thorough comb-through of the campus, focussing on the areas identified on CCTV where the suspect had been, and there was no evidence of an explosive device having ever been brought onto the site.
A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police said the 17-year-old suspect has now been released on conditional bail.
On Wednesday (November 5), St Brendan’s Sixth Form College issued a statement providing reassurance to the community following the “unsettling” incident. The college said it worked closely with Avon and Somerset Police in response to the isolated incident that required precautionary safety measures.
A spokesperson for St Brendan’s Sixth Form College said: “We are very grateful to Avon and Somerset Police for their prompt and professional support, and to our staff and students for their calm and cooperative way they responded to the incident.
“We understand that this incident may have been unsettling. We want to reassure parents, carers, and the wider community that the situation was managed swiftly and in close partnership with the police at every stage and at no point was there a verified threat to anyone’s safety.”