British school closed indefinitely after major cyber incident

A significant cyberattack has forced a major British secondary school to remain closed after the Christmas break.

A significant cyberattack has forced a major British secondary school to remain closed after the Christmas break, disrupting education for its 1,500 students, according to The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

Higham Lane School in Nuneaton announced the continued closure after the incident crippled its entire IT infrastructure, rendering critical systems like telephones, email, servers, and management software inaccessible to staff.

Headteacher Michael Gannon indicated that a reopening on Wednesday, 7 January, was the goal but could not be confirmed until the full scope of the damage was assessed.

The Central England Academy Trust, which oversees the school, confirmed it is managing the cybersecurity incident with the help of external specialists and has notified authorities, including the Information Commissioner's Office.

While the specific nature of the attack remains unconfirmed, it follows a troubling pattern of over 80 ransomware incidents targeting the UK education sector in 2024, which have previously forced other schools to close. Officials have not yet confirmed if any data was stolen in this latest breach.

Written by

Sharon Florentine Editorial Director

Sharon Florentine is the editorial director for CyberRisk Alliance’s Channel Brands and acting editorial director for SC UK. She is responsible for setting strategy and editorial direction and developing content for news, features, analysis and other written content, moderates live webcasts, and oversees research projects. Sharon has previously held key editorial, content and leadership positions at DevOps.com, Security Boulevard, CIO.com, Ziff Davis Enterprise, and CRN, among others.