Bomb threat drops curtain on production
A bomb scare is the latest controversy to rock St Peter’s School Cambridge, the private Waikato school dealing with workplace bullying allegations and the mysterious absence of its principal.
The school remained closed yesterday after the bomb alert on Thursday night.
The threat coincided with the final night of St Peter’s School’s senior production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which was playing to a packed house. A parent told Stuff that just as the musical drew to a close, the bomb threat announcement was made, and the audience was informed that police were on the way.
They were among the first people to be ushered off the Cambridge campus, with one parent saying it was a surreal feeling to learn about the bomb threat after such a joyful celebration.
The parent, who doesn’t want to be named, told Stuff the bomb scare was a ‘‘heavy comedown after such a fantastic evening’’.
When the show ended, she said teachers were thanked, students were congratulated, gifts were given out, and then they were brought back to reality.
‘‘We were told there was a police presence and that everyone needed to stay calm and there was no immediate threat, but that we would need to vacate calmly because the school was being evacuated for the safety of those concerned,’’ the parent said.
She said some students were upset, a few were shaking, but most were calm and quiet as they processed the information.
Nobody lingered to congratulate the cast, as they were ushered out the door, she said.
‘‘There was certainly some shock and upset amongst the cast, but it was predominately controlled.’’
All staff and students have since been evacuated from the campus and have cancelled all training and competitive sports games until Sunday.
All internal assessments have also been cancelled.
A notice to the school’s Facebook page confirmed a specialist police team were still on campus yesterday afternoon clearing the area.
The main block including the school house had been cleared, but the boarding houses still needed to be checked.
The school has been at the centre of controversy this week, with questions about why executive principal Dale Burden and deputy principal Yevette Williams have not been at work this term. This was followed by revelations that workplace watchdog WorkSafe was looking into the wellbeing of staff at the school.
The school’s trust board chairman John Erkkila emailed parents informing them there would be no classes yesterday morning.
He said 500 people had been evacuated from the campus, after the police alert.
Those residing in the school’s boarding houses on the rural campus had sheltered at a nearby sporting complex on Thursday night.
‘‘With the majority of our boarding community having returned home or in the process of doing so, we do not wish to put further pressure on our families and athletes.
‘‘Our management team is in the process of contacting the governing sporting regional bodies to advise them of our situation.
‘‘We will keep you informed regarding the resumption of training and competition.’’
There has been no suggestion the threat is related to any of the earlier events.