Two schools in Merton were evacuated this morning following a bomb scare. 

Staff at Raynes Park High School said Raynes Park School, Rutlish and Ricards Lodge had all been evacuated after a bomb threat this morning. 

But Rutlish's headteacher later said that the school had not suffered a bomb threat.

Rachel Burnham, marketing and communications manager at Raynes Park High School, said their receptionist answered the phone this morning to a recording of a 'vague' bomb threat.

1,018 students were immediately evacuated under the pretense of a fire alarm while police were called.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed the bomb scare was ongoing but would not give details about which schools were affected.

Police later said they had stood down some time after 10am and were dealing with it as a 'malicious communication'.

Wimbledon Times:

Miss Burnham said: "There was a vague threat to say it was going to happen.

"Our receptionist proceeded to call the police straight away and spoke to the headteacher. 

"Everyone was led out onto the astroturf - they were very well behaved."

She said police gave the all clear just after 10am today and remained at the school at 11.30am taking statements from staff.

She said everyone was safe and students had been sent home. 

They were expected to be at school as normal tomorrow, unless an announcement is made on its website. 

West Wimbledon Primary School let the office staff use their facilities so they could inform parents via email and text of the situation at about 9.45am. 

Year 11 pupils from Ricards Lodge have said they were told by police they could not use their mobile phones in case it interefered with the bomb detection equipment. 

A parent contacted the Wimbledon Guardian to say his daughter had been evacuated from Ricards Lodge High School in Lake Road, Wimbledon. 

Wimbledon Times:

The man, who wanted to remain anonymous, said there were lots of police at the school, and the children had been evacuated onto playing fields and then moved further away towards the road.

He said: "It seems very serious. Police said it was a bomb scare.

"At first the police were trying to play it down and say they get these things from time to time, but then they started moving more swiftly and more police arrived, and the kids got moved away more."

Two 13 year-old girls, Annabelle Cole and Paige Ditch, said students were panicking at their school, Ricards Lodge. They said they were surprised because the school is quite small and they were 'freaking out' about the bomb threat.

A group of students from Ricards Lodge High School, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: "It was about 8.40am when the fire alarm went off. We didn't know what was happening. 

"We thought it was just a drill so we just left our stuff and our friend left her blazer with her phone, zip and keys.

"We went outside as usual to the astro-turf. We were fine then and only complained about the cold. 

"After about 10 minutes, we started to realise we had been out longer than usual and we were told to turn our phones off. That was when the police arrived. 

"The teachers were huddled up directly in front of our tutor groups and we were escorted onto the grass. We still had no idea what was happening. 

"To keep our spirits high, we sang, talked and hugged. Before we knew it we'd been standing there for an hour and 45 minutes. 

"A letter came round from Bishop Giplin - the local primary school - saying there had been a bomb threat. 

"This scared us half to death. Everyone started panicking and some crying, and the rest were just relieved that they knew what was going on and we could be evacuated."

They added: "Many parents were annoyed they didn't get a message. However, we understand that they wouldn't risk a member of staff's life to send out a message."

Jennifer Rickelsford emailed the Wimbledon Guardian to say: "My daughter is at Ricards and called me from the field, hysterical, as she was told it was a bomb scare. 

"The whole school has been sent home and not one parents has received any notifications. I thought that was what Parent Mail was for.

"The reason I am annoyed is there is not one message or text been sent out before release. They were sent home from the field and were not allowed to go in school for bags or keys or coats ( I understand the danger) but told you can wait outside school for approximately 3 hours in the cold and then should be allowed to retrieve them.

"A press of one button is all it takes to notify every parent in the school at the same time."

Vania Keely said: "My daughters attend Ricards Lodge and I received a call this morning from my eldest daughter who was very scared, and told me all the children had been evacuated from the school due to a bomb scare. 

"My daughter's coat and personal belongings are still inside but no one is allowed back in. 

"They have been sent home with a letter explaining the situation and from what I hear all the girls are very scared, with their first thought being if it's Isis related. 

"My youngest daughter is off ill today and feeling thankful that she wasn't there. This is a really scary experience for them all."

Before the news was confirmed to the Wimbledon Guardian, Mark Gale, from Morden, contacted the newsdesk to say he believed Raynes Park High School was the other school affected. 

Children are reportedly being sent home from Raynes Park High School, and not being allowed back into the building. 

Mr Gale said: "Police are everywhere. One of my friend's kids has her bag in the school with her keys, and she can't go back in to get it. 

"No one is being allowed into the school."

The Wimbledon Guardian has also received an anonymous email from someone with a daughter at Raynes Park High School. 

They wrote: "She just called me with news that her school was also evacuated. 

"Children were moved to a near sports field and there's police everywhere."

Another woman, who also wanted to remain anonymous, said her son had been evacuated from Raynes Park High School because of a "major incident" but not given any more information. 

She said: "He told us police were eveyrwhere. They are evacuating the children further and further away, and telling them to go home if they can. 

"Most of them don't have keys or oyster cards because their stuff is inside. These kids are just trying to get on buses with no idea what's going on. I could hear them panicking."

She added: "The schools are at fault for not ringing round the parents and following procedure, and not keeping everyone informed.

"There are kids panicking here. I'm a little bit disgusted with them."

However, other parents and pupils have commended the schools for their response to the bomb scare.

16-year-old Grace Bennet, who goes to Ricards Lodge said: "We think the school handled it really well. They couldn't have done anything better."

Another student, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: "I think the school handled the incident tremendously well, seeing as the staff were also unaware of what was happening.

"We were kept calm and out of the way, a safe distance from the school. My bag with all my things remains there, but I would rather come back tomorrow over risking my life.

"People were panicking, but it would be strange if there was not.

"The whole school was evacuated very effectively, nothing was brought out, so I fail to see how the school could have contacted the parents, for those who are complaining. The priority was to get students to safety and they did that very well."

Sarah Stanford, who has two children at Raynes Park High School, said she was "disgusted" by the complaints about the schools. 

She said: "Is it more important that our children are removed from the school as quickly and as safely by all staff, or is it more important that staff potentially put their own lives at risk to inform us? 

"I cannot fault the way all of the staff at Raynes Park have dealt with the situation. Teachers later returned to classrooms to collect as many bags as possible so the kids could in fact return home safely. 

"Today's incident is proof as to how much the staff at Raynes Park care about their pupils."

A sixth form pupil at Ricards Lodge, Ellie Butler, said: "I think it's unfair for parents or anyone to criticise them as they did everything necessary and needed to ensure we were all safe. 

"Letters were printed in the neighbouring primary school so that we could quickly exit the school with something to inform parents what happened. 

"Parent mail and phoning parents would have caused too much chaos, details would only be inside the school which no one was allowed access to. 

"I think the situation was dealt with the best it could, giving that both students and parents were considerably shaken up."

Another Ricards Lodge pupil, who also wanted to remain anonymous, said "The headteacher was trying to get everyone safe, so how is he going to text all of the parents?

"The parents complaining should thinking about how our headteacher was feeling and should feel lucky for the swift evacuation."

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police confirmed that two schools in the borough had been evacuated this morning, but said they were treating the bomb scare as a "malicious communication" or a hoax. 

He said: "We received a call about a suspicious device at the schools. 

"It's being treated as a malicious communication at this time, but we have to treat it with caution and investigate.

"We are investigating to make sure it is what we think it is."

He added that two other schools in London, one in the south east and one in the west, had also been evacuated this morning. 

It is also reported that threats were made to six schools in the West Midlands and four in Cornwall. 

Are you or your children affected by the bomb scare? Contact the newdesk on pippa.allen@london.newsquest.co.uk or 020 8722 6337 and let us know