A Year Seven boy has died after a "medical emergency" at a school.

Police and medics were called to Shoebury High School today just before 1.20pm following concerns for the welfare of a young person.

Southend Council and the school have now confirmed a Year 7 boy has died. 

A spokesman for the school said: "At lunchtime there was a medical issue that involved one child; no other individuals were involved. 

"The ambulance and air ambulance service supported the child and were assisted by the police who then remained on site as part of their protocol and to support staff and students.

"We can confirm he has sadly died and out of respect to the family, we will not be commenting further at this stage.

"The school will be open tomorrow and there will be specialist support in place as children will be spoken to about the situation first thing by their tutors."

An email distributed to councillors said: "It is with sadness to report that a Year 7 boy was taken ill at the school today and taken away by air ambulance.

"The school will remain open tomorrow, and we will try as far as possible to continue as normal, and we have asked for critical incident support and counselling to be made available."

An Essex Police spokesman said: "We are currently on scene with colleagues from the ambulance service at a school in Shoeburyness, assisting paramedics with a medical emergency.

"We were called by ambulance colleagues just before 1.20pm today following concerns for the welfare of a young person. We are treating this as a medical episode."