Police were called and children were advised not to speak to strangers after reports of an attempted abduction at Dartford Grammar School.

Headmaster Julian Metcalf sent out a letter to parents and carers, warning of an incident involving a Year 8 student in Miskin Road yesterday afternoon.

A further letter today confirmed the incident was a false alarm, but said staff would maintain a presence outside the school to provide reassurance.

In his initial letter Mr Metcalf stated: "I am writing to inform you that there was an attempted abduction of one of our Year 8 students immediately after school today on Miskin Road.

"Most importantly, the student is safe and well, and the police are rightly taking the matter extremely seriously.

"We will ensure there is additional supervision outside the school gates tomorrow after school, but I would ask you to remind your son or daughter not to speak to any strangers on their journey to or from school, and to report any concerns immediately - to the school, yourselves or the police.

"This is clearly not what I was wanting to focus on in my first letter home to you at the start of term, but ensuring the safety of our students is clearly our immediate priority. I will write again shortly to give you a more positive flavour of our return to school."

The second letter stated police had confirmed the incident was a false alarm and were satisfied there was no cause for alarm.

"I was particularly touched by the number of positive messages and offers of help that we received last night..."

Mr Metcalf added: "As always in any situation like this, safety and caution come first, as we have a duty of care to all our students something we take very seriously.

"I would again like to thank the police for their prompt and thorough actions. They have kept the school updated this morning, and have been very much focused on ensuring our students' wellbeing.

"We will maintain a presence outside the school at the end of the day today to provide further reassurance to our students.

"As always, our thanks to the wider school community for their support. I was particularly touched by the number of positive messages and offers of help that we received last night."

"I look forward to writing to you for more positive reasons in the near future: students have returned to DGS with great enthusiasm and I was delighted to be able to address the whole student body for the first time in assembly yesterday. For now, however, my primary aim is just to keep you updated and to provide reassurance."

Kent Police confirmed they were called at 4pm on Wednesday, September 8 to a report of a suspicious incident involving a teenage boy on Miskin Road, Dartford.

A statement added: "Officers have carried out a number of inquiries into this incident and have established that no offences took place."

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