RIYADH, 7 April 2003 — A bomb hoax at the British Section of the Saudi Arabian International School in Riyadh has heightened fears over the security of Britons in the Kingdom yesterday.

“While the threat was a hoax, it reinforces the need to take security issues seriously,” the British Embassy said in a statement.

When the threat was received at the school about 9.30 a.m., the staff immediately put standing security and evacuation procedures into operation.

“We have well rehearsed emergency procedures for evacuating the school quickly,” Headmaster Patrick Bloomfield told Arab News last night.

“Both the British Embassy and British Aerospace have given us professional advice. The result was that we were able to evacuate about 900 children from the school and onto the playing fields away from the buildings in about six minutes.”

The school regularly practices safety procedures in the normal course of events and has not increased the frequency recently.

“We’re always looking for improvements, however,” Bloomfield added.

During the proceedings, the children remained calm.

“I was very impressed with the pupils,” Bloomfield said, “Children as young as five years quietly followed the standing procedures. There wasn’t a trace of panic.”

The Saudi emergency services and the bomb squad were on the scene very soon, and searched the building with sniffer-dogs. “They were very professional in their approach,” said Bloomfield, who added that he thought their calm and methodical approach to what might have been a real threat was “reassuring”.

A Western diplomat, who spoke to Arab News on condition of anonymity, said: “Even though it was a hoax, and it never reached the level of an incident, the school staff and emergency services treated the situation seriously.”

There is no indication yet as to who was behind the hoax, and efforts are still being made by the security services to trace the culprit.

The British Embassy recently encouraged Britons in the Kingdom “to consider whether their presence and that of their dependents is essential” and urged those who remained to be alert and maintain a low profile. There are about 40,000 US nationals and 30,000 British nationals living and working in the Kingdom. In February, the US Embassy advised Americans to consider leaving in the light of what were perceived as increased security risks.

Several schools reported that their pupil rolls have not dropped significantly and that their security procedures are under constant review.

Although there have been no reports of anti-Western attacks in Saudi Arabia since the war began, security has been considerably increased in the capital and other major cities. Police and extra security guards are now a regular feature outside schools.

The Saudi Arabian International School intends to maintain its vigilance.

“The safety of the children in our care is paramount,” said Bloomfield.