Clashes erupted between pro- and anti-government students at Al Ahd Al Zaher Secondary Girls' School in Bahrain.

A group of students rallied and started chanting political slogans, prompting other classmates to chant opposing slogans.

'As tension rose, students from both sides started fighting,' the Education Ministry public relations and media directorate said in a statement.

School personnel stepped in to separate students and calm emotions.

'The students who brawled have been really good friends,' the statement said.

It warned of the dangers of sectarian polarisation and sedition and called on teachers and parents to assume their national and educational role.

The tense atmosphere at the school spread to others in the Central and Capital governorates as students staged impromptu demonstrations and chanted political slogans.

Condemning the deplorable and 'unprecedented' incidents, the ministry appealed to all social sections and the media to join ranks and steer schools away from polarised politics.-TradeArabia News Service