Gozo secondary school teachers were alerted about pupils having taken sleeping pills when they became dizzy and started vomiting at school.

The Education Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that three students who attend the Victoria school were rushed to hospital after they fell ill.

The boys were in Year 9 (Form 3), which means they were either aged 13 or 14.

Replying to questions on the matter, a ministry spokesman told Times of Malta the incident happened at the end of the first lesson when the head of the school was informed that three students were not feeling well. 

The students complained of dizziness and "vomiting was involved".

As there was mention of the consumption of pills, the school phoned the students' parents and called for an ambulance "straightaway", the spokesman said. 

One of the students was released from hospital early on Wednesday afternoon, while the other two were kept for more observation.

Attempts to contact the head of school on Thursday to establish whether the incident was an isolated one proved futile.

The head, Mary Jane Camilleri, refused to comment and instead told Times of Malta to direct any queries on the matter to the education department.