A teacher at a Buckinghamshire school has been hospitalised after her clothes were set on fire by a "ball of flame" during a "tried and tested" science experiment.

A six-year-old boy, the child of another teacher, was also injured when the experiment went wrong, Hazeley Academy confirmed. The teacher, who suffered burns to her face and body, is in a stable condition after she was airlifted to hospital around 1.10pm on Wednesday, the BBC reported.

A spokesperson for Buckingham Fire and Rescue Service confirmed the incident had been sparked by an experiment, which caused the "ball of flame".

"It was a flash fire which injured two people who were presumably quite close to it."

The school, in Milton Keynes, released a statement saying the sequence of events surrounding the incident were "not yet clear".

"A science teacher is reported to have been in a prep room, rehearsing a routine, tried and tested demonstration, involving a flammable substance when some of her clothing was ignited," the statement read.

The school added there would be "nothing further to report" until an investigation conducted by the health and safety executive is completed.

At the time of the incident, the school, which became a science specialist college in 2008, was closed to pupils in years seven to 11 due to the nationwide strike action.