Friday, September 10, 2010 10:21 am

A strong odor in the building caused a majority of students at Woodbury Grammar School to go home Friday.

The odor was caused by fumes from varnish which had been applied Thursday night to the school's gymnasium floor, school officials said. The school recently experienced a leak which caused water damage to the floor.

Only about 100 of the school's nearly 500 students were still in school as of a little after 10 a.m. today, officials reported.

After the building's windows and doors had been open a few hours, most of the smell had dissipated, officials said.

According to one official, "the smell was so bad it could knock you down."