The dad, who does not want to be named, criticised the communication from staff at Thorpe St Andrew school when it was put into lockdown after the schoolgirl was attacked on campus.

Anxious parents waited for hours for news of their children who were in lockdown at the school (Image: Denise Bradley)

He said: "Apart from one email we received in the afternoon, the whole communication over next steps to reassure us as parents, and also for our son, is non-existent just as it has been with the incident during the school football match last week."

The school went into lockdown for several hours on Wednesday as soon as staff were alerted about the stabbing.

Teachers barricaded classroom doors, while students hid under desks and armed police patrolled the corridors.

Anxious parents gathered at the school's gates waiting for news.

A 15-year-old boy, described by police as white and British, was arrested about an hour after the stabbing.

Although hundreds of students returned to class this morning as the school reopened, some said they are too scared to return.

One pupil said: "I have never felt safe there. I'm still worried and I can't stop thinking about what happened."

The police cordoned off a section of Laundry Lane on Wednesday near the school (Image: Newsquest)

They added that "quite a few" of their friends were also not attending on Thursday either.

Many parents found out about the major incident on Wednesday through social media or messages from their children locked in classrooms.

Many criticised how the school managed its communication with parents.

Dad Darren Evans told this newspaper while waiting to be reunited with his daughter "if it wasn't for Facebook and the news" he would not have known his child was in lockdown.

He said: "It's the not knowing that's really stressful. I've got no qualms with the school but it's these situations when it really matters."

Thorpe St Andrew School also came under fire earlier this week after a visiting group of under-15 Jewish boys from London reported suffering antisemitic abuse during a football match at the school.

Broad Horizons Education Trust, which runs the Thorpe school, declined to comment at the time.

But in a letter to parents, principal Penny Bignell said antisemitic behaviour was "completely unacceptable" and the school had started a full investigation.

© Eastern Daily Press