School tells pupils to be wary of strangers after another suspicious approach

A school has circulated a warning over pupils talking to strangers after a Year 8 boy was offered a lift home from a suspicious man outside the school gates.

DUBAI // Parents and pupils are being urged to be careful after a young boy was offered a lift home by a stranger outside the school gates.

Dubai English Speaking School (Desc) has since sent a warning to parents and other schools in the emirate.

The alert follows the attempted abduction last week of a pupil from Jebel Ali Primary School by a “blonde woman” at Mall of the Emirates.

The warning from Desc, issued on Monday, said the year 8 pupil was waiting for his mother.

“As the boy waited, a white, oldish Toyota pulled up alongside him and asked if he wanted a lift home,” the school said.

“Sensibly, the boy said no and began to move back towards the school car park. The Toyota then reversed alongside him and asked him if he was sure he did not want a lift.

“Again, sense prevailed, as our student declined the offer and walked across the car park towards the main school entrance.

“The car waited a little longer on the road before driving off. The police have been informed.”

Chris Vizzard, the deputy headteacher at the school, near Oud Metha, said: “In a lot of these cases, people have just been offering genuine help. In other cases, it might be a lot more sinister than that. We’re just erring on the side of caution on this one. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Mr Vizzard said the school often received similar warnings from other schools.

“This is the first time we’ve sent one of these out,” he said. “It’s just protocol. If there was a situation that potentially affected the safety of our children, then we’d want other schools to do the same.

“We’re all trying to do the same job – safeguarding the safety of children.”