A kitchen porter has been arrested for allegations that some soup had been poisoned at Stowe public school in Buckinghamshire.

Police were informed last week of the poisoning at school incident which could put school pupils and staff at risk, and a 58 year old man was suspended immediately. The head teacher has said “I would like to reassure parents that no pupils or members of staff were affected in the incident”

There was a chemical smell in the soup which made staff suspicious. The kitchen porter was arrested at his home in Northamptonshire on suspicion of administering poison to the soup with intent of causing grievous bodily harm and endangering life.

The kitchen porter has been released on bail.

The kitchen staff at the school were carrying out checks on the food before serving it to the pupils, this was a ‘routine check’. As the food smelt like it had been tampered with they took action to prevent poisoning to the pupils and staff. The school has 750 pupils aged between 13 and 18. Parents were informed of the arrest by email, the school have said.

The prestigious school is where Sir Richard Branson was once a pupil.

The schools vigilance has potentially saved pupils and staff from suffering severe poisioning injuries from eating the soup.