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Arson probe after inferno
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| The blaze: Crews tackle the raging fire. Picture: Andrew Charter |
Police investigating a fire that destroyed a school believe it was started deliberately.
The main building and two temporary buildings at the Waldorf School of South West London were completely devastated by the blaze that swept through the property in Abbotswood Road, Streatham, last Saturday afternoon.
The fire left the school decimated, destroying all eight classrooms and most of the teaching resources stored inside, as well as the children's work done over the past year. Only a small office and nursery survived.
The alarm was first raised by school secretary Sheila Campbell, who was working in the school office adjacent to the main buildings.
She said: "I realised there was smoke and so did a number of neighbours and we tried to put it out with extinguishers, but it was too big for us to control.
"It had really taken a grip by the time the fire crews got here. It's terrible really because everything was in there.
"We had a meeting of parents on Sunday and there were a lot of tears, but we have a great spirit here and people volunteered to chip in to help us get things back to normal."
The wooden building was partly built by parents when the school opened in 1989. Fire crews from Tooting, West Norwood and Norbury were called to fight the blaze, which produced a spectacular display of flames and thick black smoke, which crew members said could be seen as far away as Epsom.
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| The damage: An entire buiilding was burned to the ground. Picture: Nino Williams |
No one was injured as the fire happened on a weekend the school was empty, but police investigators confirm it is being treated as suspicious, pointing out that it appeared to have begun in two separate locations.
On Monday, children returning to class were taught on the school fields under gazebos, while staff attempted to retrieve what they could from the charred remains.
Ironically, children were due to hold a celebration of St John, which involved a fire ceremony, just yards from the twisted wreckage.
The school is part of the Waldorf School movement, founded by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, which eschews traditional teaching methods and places an equal emphasis on developing a child's emotional and physical well-being.
It receives no public money, relying on fundraising and the input of parents and teachers, and now faces an uphill battle to be ready for the new school year in September.
Staff and parents emphasised that the school's annual summer fair, due to be held on Saturday, July 10, will still go ahead as planned.
To contact the school to offer help or financial assistance visit www.waldorf-swlondon.org.
9:30am Thursday 1st July 2004
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