A 'significant' cyber attack has targeted the websites of three Isle of Wight schools.
Isle of Wight Education Federation, which runs Medina College, Carisbrooke College and the Island IV Form, has warned of 'significant implications' following the 'attack'.
IT systems are said to have been compromised last week, and has meant staff are unable to gaining access.
The federation is working alongside the police Cybercrime Unit.
A spokesperson for Isle of Wight Education Federation said:
"The IT systems for our Federation were compromised last week (between 28 and 29 July) by a Ransomware Attack, which has resulted in an encryption of data and is preventing us from gaining access to our systems.
"We are working with officers from the police Cybercrime Unit to pursue the cyber criminals and understand the full impact of the attack. There are obviously some significant implications of this, which we are managing and will take measures to secure our systems even further in the future.
"We are working with the local Police and Authority, Department for Education, Cyber support and various ICT system providers to move this forward and ensure that necessary and appropriate systems are in place for the new academic year.
"Stakeholders will be contacted about this with updates as and when we are able to provide them."