The shallow hole at St Mary's school in Gunnedah remained cordoned off on Wednesday, more than 24 hours after the bones were discovered.

Workers were digging in part of the schoolyard when they uncovered a bone, before investigators uncovered further remains.

Oxley Inspector Michael Wurth told the Leader the bones included part of what police think could be connected to a torso.

"They will be taken to Newcastle to the Department of Forensic Medicine for specialist examination to determine if they're human remains," he said.

"There was more than one bone."

READ ALSO:

Oxley detectives have taken charge of the discovery and Inspector Wurth said officers would wait for the results from the forensic pathologist and bone examinations.

He said detectives would look at what the site was previously before the school was established to determine if the remains are historical.

"We simply don't know [where they came from]," Inspector Wurth said.

"The area has been isolated now.

"The workers who discovered the remains are working in a different part of the school now."

The area remains cordoned off and investigations are continuing.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: