A Ebbw Vale school was placed in lockdown today leaving pupils "hiding under their desks."

Police attended the secondary campus at Ebbw Fawr Learning Community in Ebbw Vale after receiving a call at around 10:20am today, Friday April 26.

A spokesperson for Gwent Police confirmed a teenage boy had been arrested on suspicion of making threats. He remains in police custody at this time as their enquiries continue.

The arrest did not take place on school premises and was not in the Ebbw Vale area.

Superintendent Matthew Williams, who was in charge of the policing operation, thanked the public and the school for "following protocol, remaining calm and relaying any concerns they had to us."

Superintendent Williams said: "We received reports that a pupil at Ebbw Fawr Learning Community had received threats

"This morning, we received a report that the secondary campus at Ebbw Fawr Learning Community had been placed in partial lockdown at around 10.20am after a teenage pupil had reportedly received threatening messages.

"Our officers swiftly attended the site and are working with the school to ensure the safety of its learners and reassure parents.

"We have arrested a teenage boy on suspicion of making threats. This arrest didn't take place on school premises and was not made in the Ebbw Vale area. We carried out a search during the arrest, and no offensive weapons were found. He remains in police custody at this time as our enquiries continue.

"We understand the level of concern from parents in the area today, but I'd like to thank the public and the school for following protocol, remaining calm and relaying any concerns they had to us.

"These actions allowed us to act quickly, make an arrest, safeguard pupils and reassure the community."

Parents were notified of the situation after receiving text messages from the school.

One of these texts, posted on social media, read: "The school is in a partial lockdown situation. During this period the telephones and entrances will be unmanned, external doors locked and nobody allowed in or out.

"All students are safe in classrooms and all doors and access points are locked."

It continued: "The police have arrived and there is no risk inside the building."

The lockdown was lifted at approximately 2pm as many relieved parents collected their children.

The school and the local authority worked together to manage a structured and staggered release of pupils for the remainder of the school day.

A spokesperson for Blaenau Gwent county council said:  "Ebbw Fawr Learning Community’s Secondary Campus staff responded quickly and calmly to activate well-established emergency planning procedures that ensure the safety and well-being of learners and staff.

"We have been working closely with Gwent Police to ensure the continued safety of everyone on the school site and to reassure concerned parents.

"The school and the Local Authority are working together to manage a structured and staggered release of pupils for the remainder of the school day."

Ebbw Fawr Learning Community’s Secondary Campus will re-open as normal on Monday.