A Cork school had to be evacuated after a hoax phone call claiming a man with a knife was on the grounds.
Coláiste Chríost Rí in Turner's Cross on the southside of the city were forced to evacuate after gardai arrived shortly before lunchtime yesterday.
Principal Padraig Mac an Rí said that the event was "shocking" but that the pupils and staff had responded in "an excellent fashion" and the school was cleared quickly and safely, Cork Beo reports.
"Gardai arrived at around ten minutes before one and told us that they had received a call about a man armed with a knife in the Turner's Cross area who could be in the school," said the principal.
"It was a pretty shocking bit of information to get but we have an incident plan and we put it into action immediately. They instructed us to evacuate the buildings and the staff and the students responded very quickly and very well.
"We have regular fire drills and a full incident plan and while this would not have been the ideal way to test them - in a strange way it was very reassuring to see them work so well. At least we know our systems work".
Gardai conducted a thorough sweep of the school and the grounds as part of a wider search of the area but it seems the call had been a hoax.
"It was very intense hour for us, a bit of a shock on a normal lunchtime, but it was good to see the Gardai carry out their duties very efficiently and it is reassuring for us to see how the staff and students responded and followed our plans," said school Principal Mac An Rí.
It is understood that Gardai will try to trace the source of the hoax call, which wasted their resources and caused unwanted stress for the staff and boys at Coláiste Chríost Rí.
