TEACHERS at the Clan Carthy High School in Kingston were Monday morning forced to halt classes for several hours and hastily evacuate students from classrooms after receiving a bomb threat from an anonymous caller.

"At about 7 yesterday (Monday) someone called the school and told officials that a bomb was on the school grounds," senior Vice-principal Ekle Bailey told the Observer.

As a result of the call, teachers stopped all classes and other activities, and the police were also called in.

"Police from the Protective Services carried out a search on the school premises nothing was found," said one teacher, who explained that cops warned officials at the school to be on the lookout and to keep their eyes and ears open.

"This is the first time something like this has happened at the school and it left several students (and) teachers a bit shaken up," said Bailey, who had been working at the institution since 1981.

"When I heard the news I was very scared," said one student who asked not to be named.

"I thought it was a fire drill," another student said.

A security guard at the school's main entrance was pleased with how the staff handled the situatiuon.

"As soon as the calls came for students to evacuate the school premises, the children and other officials responded quickly," the security guard said.

Meantime, the vice-principal said the incident will not affect the school's participation in the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association Boys' and Girls' Athletic Championships 2010, which began yesterday.