Staff and students at a Darwin private school were forced into lockdown Monday afternoon after a male student allegedly obtained a knife and went looking for another student he had argued with earlier in the day, the school has confirmed.

The incident forced Haileybury Rendall School into lockdown with NT Police responding to the scene at around 2:10pm Monday.

The school said in a statement to parents that two “older students” had become involved in a “physical altercation”, and that one “remained quite angry and was later found looking for the other student in a threatening manner”.

The school later confirmed the student had armed himself with a knife, but claimed there was “no risk during this incident”.

“This caused our staff on the scene to immediately de-escalate the situation,” the statement said. “Our staff acted quickly and professionally to to make sure that there was no risk or danger to any of our students.

“At the same time we followed our safety protocols, initiated the alarm for a lockdown and contacted the police.”

However, the police later confirmed while they attended to the incident, no charges or arrests were made.

“The students involved have been sent home and the school will conduct a thorough and comprehensive investigation into this matter,” the statement from principal Andrew McGregor said.

“We have no tolerance for fighting at HRS and we will continue our strong stance on this issue.”

The school said councillors were being provided for students if required.