Guardian News and Media/London

Students at the Bethnal Green Academy, attended by the three London schoolgirls feared to be on their way to Syria to join Islamic State (IS) militants, returned to class yesterday, as the fate of their missing friends remained unknown.
Students and parents expressed their shock at the news that Amira Abase, 15, Shamina Begum, 15 and Kadiza Sultana, 16 had travelled from Gatwick to Istanbul in Turkey and were believed to be heading towards IS territory.
The Metropolitan police confirmed yesterday that it has officers in Turkey, while declining to confirm that they are involved in looking for the girls. A spokesman said: “Officers are working closely with the Turkish authorities who are providing a great deal of assistance and support to our investigation.”
Worried parents received a letter from the east London school, which has been rated outstanding by Ofsted, on Friday telling them what had happened and assuring them it was doing everything possible to tackle the situation.
A 15-year-old friend of the three teenagers, who was also a student at the Bethnal Green Academy, ran away to Syria via Turkey in December.
Parents and pupils were hurried through the school gates yesterday morning, the first day back after the half-term break, while police in high vis kept guard.
A parent of two daughters in year 9 said the girls’ disappearance had a damaging impact on the community. “The girls feel terrible. Parents aren’t letting their kids out. It’s devastating.”
A mother of another student said: “It is so unexpected, it’s really sad I can’t imagine what the families of those girls are going through, as a mum I really feel for them. This is the type of thing you read about but you can’t imagine it is happening at your school.”
One sixth-form student, who asked not to be named, said he had never heard the subject of joining IS talked about among pupils at the school. “I’m a Muslim, my friends are Muslims (but) people don’t really talk about that stuff,” he said. “It’s not like school’s full of girls talking about going to join IS.”
He did not know the missing girls, but added that “everyone” was talking about it. A young man who gave his name as Mohamed, said: “It’s crazy. I was proper shocked. People don’t really expect to go on holiday then come back and find out that all these girls have gone to Syria.”
Another parent, who also did not want to be named, defended the school. “It is a fantastic school. I’ve seen derogatory comments about the school but this is not their fault,” he said. “What has happened is terrible but I know the school will be working hard - they are very proactive.
“I don’t understand, knowing the kids here, knowing this school - it doesn’t make sense.”
Dr Mohamed Abdul Bari, the trustee of the East London mosque in Whitechapel and a former teacher in the borough, said there was a sense of shock in the Tower Hamlets community.
“It’s every parent’s nightmare that their teenage children would go like this - disappear from their parents, families and schools. They are very intelligent girls and they had the ability to hide,” he said.
“They hid their intentions from everyone and the only thing we know is one girl had a connection with Aqsa Mahmood from Scotland. They were definitely convinced by the slick IS media.”