A maths exam at an Aberdeen school was interrupted when an invigilator took ill and later died.
Shocked fourth year pupils thought the elderly man was pretending to sleep after he sat down shortly after the 9.20am N5 maths exam started at Harlaw Academy.
But an ambulance then had to be called as about 100 pupils were moved from the assembly hall to the gym hall and other classrooms to continue sitting their test.
The man died in hospital later in the day.
Head teacher David Innes wrote to the families of pupils after the tragedy, urging parents to discuss with their children whether they needed support or felt their exams were affected.
In the letter Mr Innes said: “At the start of paper 1 this morning one of the invigilators in the hall was taken ill.
“The exam was stopped and soon after this we took the decision to move to other rooms.
“Pupils restarted the exam and were given the full time allocation. Throughout this period of disruption the response of the pupils was exemplary.
“The situation will have affected each individual differently. It would be helpful if you could discuss this at home with your son or daughter as they may need support.
“In addition if your son or daughter feels that their exam was adversely affected by this incident please contact their year head in the first instance to discuss things.”
Last night a 15-year-old girl who was in the exam hall at the time described how fellow pupils were “shocked and upset” as paramedics arrived.
The girl, who did not want to be named, said: “He sat down and everyone thought he was joking – pretending to sleep or something.
“Another invigilator went over and put another chair next to him to stop him falling and then they got everyone out of the hall.
“I’d seen him at a couple of my other exams but I didn’t know who he was really.
“People were panicking and some others were getting really upset because we didn’t know what was happening.”
The pupils finished the first half of their paper in the gym hall and other classrooms before they returned to the assembly hall to finish their exam.
The girl added: “It was really uncomfortable and weird having to go back again when we weren’t sure what had happened there.
“I went to my granny’s after and was still shocked about it.
“I feel really sorry for the guy and his family.”
Aberdeen City Council’s director of education and children’s services, Gayle Gorman, said: “We were saddened to hear about this incident at Harlaw Academy on Tuesday.
“Our immediate thoughts are with the family at this difficult time and we are continuing to work with the school and SQA to support pupils and families affected by these events.”
An ambulance service spokesman confirmed they were called to a “medical incident” at the school on Tuesday.
He said: “We attended a medical incident at Harlaw Academy where we took an elderly gentleman to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.”
A police spokesman said they were aware of the incident but officers had not been called to the school.