A DORSET school was evacuated yesterday morning following a bomb scare.

Poole Grammar School received a malicious email at around 10.15am which claimed an incendiary device had been placed on the campus.

Officers from Dorset Police were called to the all-boys school on Gravel Hill in Poole following the threat, which is believed to be part of a wider criminal activity involving malicious communications at education organisations around the UK.

A thorough search of the school and its grounds was carried out but no device was found.

The incident is now being investigated by the Metropolitan Police.

Headteacher Ian Carter said he could not reveal the exact contents of the email, which was picked up by the school office, but added it warned of an “incendiary device” being planted at the school.

Mr Carter added: “The police advised us to evacuate the school which we did. It was then searched by police and staff under police direction. The police later said there were no problems and everyone was allowed back.”

The headteacher said staff followed the school’s emergency plan and classes were only disrupted for around 30 minutes.

Mr Carter said: “It is something which is deemed very serious. The police were extremely quick in reacting to our call and the pupils knew what they were doing and the emergency plan went extremely smoothly.”

The school and its sixth form houses just under 1,000 pupils aged between 12 and 18-years-old.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said yesterday: “The Metropolitan Police Service is investigating a suspected link of malicious communications sent to a number of education organisations around the UK.”

Sixth formers Ryan Lewendon, from Creekmoor, and Nathan Toms, from Broadstone said the alarms went off at the end of break.

Ryan, 18, said: “We were outside in the playground for half an hour. At first we just thought someone had pulled the fire alarm, but the teachers were saying: ‘This is not a drill’.”

Jeremy Heath, 58, has a 15-year-old son at the school.

He said: “I got an email letter from the headmaster in the afternoon saying they’d had a bomb alert and evacuated the building.

“The police came and searched. I’m pleased with their reaction.”

Mum Karen Parkinson, from Lytchett Matravers, said: “It’s quite scary really, but all fairness to the school for acting very quickly and appropriately.”