A CHURCH of England primary school had to be evacuated after a
pupil brought an artillery shell into school for a "show and tell"
exercise.
Police and an army bomb-disposal team were called in to examine
the shell earlier this month. It had been taken to a sports field
at St Margaret's C of E School, in Bowers Gifford, near Basildon,
Essex. The field was cordoned off while experts examined the shell,
before deciding it posed no danger to staff or the 250 pupils. It
is thought that a Year 5 pupil had brought in the shell to show to
classmates and his teacher.
A spokesperson for the school said: "We take the safety and
well-being of all students extremely seriously. Upon learning that
a bomb shell had been brought into school, we took the precaution
of calling police community support officers, and then followed
their expert advice."