Police are investigating after a car was reportedly driven toward three Jewish schoolboys in north-west London, in what officers are treating as a "religiously aggravated assault".
The headteacher of Hasmonean High School for Boys sent a letter to parents on Wednesday asking any witnesses to contact the police about what he described as an "antisemitic traffic incident".
The letter said that a black saloon-type car drove towards students waiting to cross Holders Hill Road in Finchley on April 20 at around 3.40pm.
The vehicle is then reported to have mounted the kerb, causing the students to move quickly out of the way. No injuries were reported.
The father of one of the boys told the BBC that there were dozens of children in kippot (skullcaps) nearby and his son was left “shaken, but with it”.
He said: “They were visibly Jewish kids. He was waiting at the lights and saw these kids and saw an opportunity.”
The Met Police said: “While inquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances, this is currently being treated as a religiously aggravated assault.
"We remain in close contact with the nearby school. At this stage, no arrests have been made and enquiries are ongoing."
Hasmonean High School for Boys on Holder’s Hill is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status for pupils from Orthodox Jewish families.
It has more than 750 students, and has round-the-clock security at the gates, but the alleged incident happened about 100 metres away.
A spokesperson for the school said: "At this challenging time we are working closely with all in our community and appropriate agencies to support our students' safety."
It comes after a spate of antisemitic attacks in London, with 140 offences logged in April.
A double stabbing in Golders Green on April 29 is being treated as an act of terrorism, with the alleged attacker, Essa Suleiman, 45, also accused of attempting to murder a long-time friend in a knife attack in Southwark earlier the same day.
Recent weeks have also seen arson attacks on volunteer Jewish ambulances and an October 7 memorial wall.
The Met Police have announced a community protection team of 100 extra officers to help safeguard London’s Jewish communities.
The force said that in its initial phase, the new team will be “primarily focused on protecting the Jewish community, which faces some of the highest levels of hate crime alongside significant terrorist and hostile state threats”.
It added that it would bring together “neighbourhood policing, specialist protection and counter terrorism capabilities” to provide a “more visible, intelligence‑led and co-ordinated presence focused on protecting Jewish communities across London”.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley previously said 300 more officers were needed to tackle the rise in antisemitism across the capital.
Jewish charity the Community Security Trust (CST) said: “The incident was reported to CST and is being investigated by the police and we urge anyone who witnessed this to contact the police and CST.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police quoting reference 2017/24APR.
