Authorities were on the alert on Thursday after a fire broke out at a lyceum in Lakatamia, Nicosia.

Police reported that the fire service had been called shortly after 6am and arrived at the scene accompanied by police officers, to find a small fire in the school principal’s office, which had gone out on its own.

Initial indications show it was set maliciously, police said.

A window had been smashed early in the morning after the school gates had been opened, and a “flammable item” had been thrown into the principal’s office, setting the curtain on fire, Loizos Constantinou head of the secondary parents’ association told the CyBC.

“The act is reprehensible and we insist on proper investigation, questioning and consequences,” he said.

Officials from the school board were dispatched to the site and students are being investigated to find the culprits, Constantinou said, but lessons are proceeding as usual.

Nicosia CID has taken on the investigation.