A 16-year-old boy who caused £2million-worth of damage when he set fire to a prestigious west London school has been sentenced.
The boy started the blaze after climbing on to the roof of the London Oratory School in Fulham on December 27, setting off a chain of events that inflicted extensive damage to the state-of-the-art library and science block.
Wimbledon youth court heard around 25,000 books were written off and repairs to the library are expected to continue until September next year.
Science equipment was destroyed and labs and classrooms had to be taken out of action after the blaze.
Headteacher Dan Wright said in the aftermath of the incident staff were faced with an office “gutted” by fire, shattered glass strewn across the library floor, smoke, water, and fire damage, and 11 classrooms rendered “unusable”.
“Smoke, water, glass, and burned material from the fire and damage from exposure to the elements rendered the library and 25,000 books an insurance write-off”, he said.
“Pupils have no access to books, nor do they have the opportunity to browse the shelves to where their interests may have taken them.”
He added that the school had to borrow labs from neighbouring schools for science lessons, 1105 pupils missed five days of on-site education, and 360 pupils missed 13 entire school days.
“The fire was an act of vandalism and struck at the heart of the school’s self-identity”, he said.
London Oratory School admits boys aged seven to 18 and girls aged 16 to 18, and is a short distance from the Chelsea stadium, Stamford Bridge.
The sons of former prime minister Tony Blair and former deputy prime minister Sir Nick Clegg are among the Roman Catholic school’s alumni, along with actor Simon Callow and trade unionist Mick Whelan.
The fire came just a few months after the school had been rocked by the discovery of potentially dangerous RAAC concrete.
Prosecutor Angela Mahadeo said the teenage boy, who cannot be identified due to his age, called 999 when he was at the school, telling the operator he was trying to start a fire and saying: “I feel like killing myself”.
The court heard he was carrying a suicide note and had earlier considered taking his own life at Victoria station before heading to the school.
“The fire took place on the fourth floor of the school library”, said Ms Mahadeo.
Nearby homes and buildings had to be evacuated as firefighters took hold of the blaze.
The boy kicked an officer in the shin during his arrest, and he gave a prepared statement to police setting out that he had been drinking alcohol and got into the school after trying some of the entrance doors.
“He got on the roof, started smoking a cigarette, some ash went on to a piece of paper, which then went on to several other pieces of paper”, the prosecutor said, reading from his prepared statement.
The court heard the teenager has mental health difficulties, and had been suffering from a depressive episode when the fire happened.
The boy has no previous convictions, and was praised for “exemplary engagement” with mental health and youth justice services during 11 months on bail.
“I’m sorry and I’m not the same person I was”, he told the court, with his parents sitting behind him in support.
“That’s the most true thing I can say – I’m not the same person as I was a year ago.”
His mother told the court of a “difficult year”, but said the family has “rallied round”, adding: “We are a loving family.”
“We think he’s a fantastic young man, the life and soul of our house”, she said. “His mental health is in a much better place now.”
The boy pleaded guilty to arson and was found guilty at trial of assaulting an emergency worker. He was cleared at the trial of the more serious charge of arson with recklessness for endangering life.
Reaching the not guilty verdict, Judge Sweet concluded the boy “was intending to try and harm himself rather than anyone else”.
Sentencing, Judge Sweet took into account a curfew that the teenage had been under during his time on court and police bail.
“You have shown remorse, you said you are sorry”, he said.
“You were in a dark place - you clearly were. But you are not now.”
He added that “a lot of damage and disruption was caused” to the school, but noted that the boy was aware no-one else was in the building.
He said the boy is a “low risk of re-offending”, and concluded that a sentence of detention and training would “do more harm than good” to the boy’s rehabilitation.
The teenage was given a youth referral order for ten months, with a list of requirements to work with the youth offending team.
The boy was also ordered to pay £100 compensation to the police officer he kicked and a £26 victim surcharge.
