Emergency services rushed to a school in Eltham yesterday because a part of a thermostat was mistaken as "suspicions" by staff.

Stationers' Crown Woods Academy was evacuated at about 2pm, with police and fire services cordoning off large areas surrounding the school.

The school was closed for hours afterwards, but today it was confirmed the suspicious item that caused the lockdown was actually a part of a thermostat - which has since been called "harmless" by the school.

Executive principal David Millar said: "As you would expect, the safety of students and staff is our first priority and in incidences such as these, we have to follow our policies, police advice and guidance.

"As a precautionary measure we were required to evacuate all the buildings and I would like to thank the staff for their professionalism in executing our emergency procedures which ensured our students were moved swiftly to the school playing field which was the designated area of safety.

“We appreciate that situations such as these cause anxiety and stress, particularly as students were not allowed to return to their classrooms to collect belongings at the end of the school day.

"We would like to thank the bus companies for their co-operation in allowing students without their travel cards to travel home on Thursday and to return to the academy this morning."

All students were reunited with their possessions by 8.30am this morning when normal lessons resumed.

The Met Police told News Shopper: "Police were called at approximately 13:50hrs to reports of a suspicious package at a school on Bexley Road, Eltham.

"The building was evacuated as a precaution.

"The incident was confirmed as non-suspicious and was stood down at around 16:15 hours."