A dozen children and one adult have been taken to hospital by ambulance after a ceiling collapsed at a school in southeast London.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) said three fire engines and 20 firefighters were sent to Rosemead Preparatory School in Thurlow Park Road, Dulwich.

Paramedics treated 16 people at the scene, and took 12 children and an adult to hospital.

All other children and staff were safely evacuated.

A specialist USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) team confirmed the building was “at no further risk of collapse”, LFB said.

London Ambulance Service was called to the private school – whose fees are nearly £5,000 per term – at 9.24am.

It said in a statement: “We sent a number of resources to the scene, including ambulance crews, medics in cars, advanced paramedics, incident response officers, emergency planning resilience officers, our hazardous area response team, and a command support vehicle.”

There is no word yet on the exact nature of the injuries.

Met Police also attended and said all children and staff had been accounted for and the school was in the process of contacting parents.

“We await an update on assessment of any injuries,” the force said.

The school said in a statement: “This morning in one of our Year 3 classrooms, a ceiling collapsed resulting in the attendance of the emergency services.

“Some injuries were sustained and some of those involved have been taken to hospital and we are working with our students and families to support them.

“We are working closely with the authorities to understand the cause of the incident and we will provide more information as soon as we can.

“Parents and families can be reassured that the school day is continuing as usual today for the rest of the school.”

The MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, Helen Hayes, tweeted: “Very concerned to hear of the collapse of a ceiling at Rosemead School this morning.

“My thoughts are with the children, staff and parents. I hope no-one is seriously injured.

“I’ve contacted the school to offer my support. My thanks to the emergency services who attended the scene.”