Corby Technical School placed into 'lockdown' after incident this afternoon

Pupils at a Corby school were told to stay in their classrooms after a emergency incident unfolded this afternoon (Thursday, June 1).

Unconfirmed reports that an armed man was in the school started circulating on social media after panicked pupils began texting their parents toward the end of the school day.

Tonight, Principal Angela Reynolds told this newspaper that reports that the person was ‘armed’ were ‘wholly inaccurate’.

She said: “We are aware that since then there has been speculation about an armed person on the school site. We can confirm that these claims are wholly inaccurate.

“Our safety protocols were immediately followed and the police were called as a precautionary measure. This was to ensure that pupils and staff were kept safe, which is of the utmost importance to us.”

Ms Reynolds emailed parents to tell them that the incident was ‘contained’, but did not give them any information about what exactly happened.

Several worried mums and dads have contacted our reporters because they say their questions have not been answered.

The incident began late this afternoon when pupils were told to stay in classrooms. One student told this newspaper he saw teachers ‘dashing’ in corridors.

Police were then seen at the entrance to the Cottingham Road building.

This newspaper has also learned that staff were apparently told not to leave the building at the end of the school day because of threats against them.

Ms Reynolds’ letter to parents, sent at about 6.45pm, said: “As you may be aware, there was a contained incident on our premises towards the end of the school day today.

“Our on-site safety protocols were implemented effectively whilst staff risk-assessed the situation; the police were called purely as a precautionary measure.

"It is always my first priority to ensure that our students and staff are kept safe and our actions ensured this was the case.”

She went on to say that pupils were able to leave calmly by 3.15pm and that disruption was ‘minimal.’

She added: “I can only thank you all for your patience and support during this delay.

“I'm sure you will understand that this was a dynamic and fast-moving situation. I have taken the step of writing to you to try and allay any anxieties you may have. I'm aware that, inevitably, there are inaccurate rumours circulating on social media about the nature of the incident and I hope that this message provides clarity and comfort to you that all is well.

“I'm proud of the way the incident was handled by both our staff and our excellent students, who remained calm at all times, enabling us to deal with the situation quickly and effectively, keeping everybody safe.”

But one parent told our reporter: “The parents' Facebook group said that the school was on lockdown and I was sitting at home panicking. You start thinking all kinds with what goes on in America.

"People were being told that there was just a problem with the gate. The school weren't giving out any information to parents.

"My daughter is anxious anyway so this was really worrying. There were all kinds of stories going around. We should at least be told what happened.”

This is the second such incident in Corby within a month. On May 15 Exeter school went into lockdown after a wanted man was said to be in the area.

A second parent also contacted our reporter. He said: “The letter the school sent home tells us absolutely nothing. How can I be expected to send my children into school tomorrow when they aren’t prepared to say what happened?”