A VANDAL-HIT school which was targeted ten times in just six months has unveiled its revamped garden – protected by CCTV.
Teachers and pupils at St Mark's RC Primary in Firrhill Crescent were left devastated after youths launched their hate campaign against the school last year, which destroyed their play area.
But now, thanks to £3000 from Radio Forth's Help a Child
Appeal and community donations, they have repaired all the damage, improved facilities and installed security cameras in a bid to prevent the vandals from striking again.
The school officially opened its new play area yesterday, inviting people who donated money and items to allow them to transform the garden.
Headteacher Patricia Barclay said launching the new-look play area was an exciting day for the staff and children, who frequently turned up to school to find their playhouse vandalised, benches ripped up and cans and broken glass everywhere.
She says she is still fearful the revamped garden could encourage the vandals to return, but believes the CCTV will act as a strong deterrent.
Mrs Barclay said: "The vandalism went on for a while and I had literally had enough because they were going to keep going unless we did something and stood up and said 'no more'.
"We feel that they could be attracted back but the security cameras are in and we have the support of the community in keeping the garden the way it is.
"The security cameras are a deterrent so we are hopeful it will remain untouched."
She added that police have already "had a word with" a group of youngsters who were caught on CCTV hanging around in the playground at night after recognising their faces from the camera images.
The new garden includes the repaired playhouse – which cost £1000 when it was first bought for the children – bird tables made by prisoners at Saughton, garden gnomes, flower beds and a swing and slide.
Nursery nurse Pauline Jackson said she was relieved something positive has come out of the destruction last year.
She said: "Hopefully the message will get out that if they come in again, they'll get caught.
"As soon as the children were able to play inside the house again, they were over the moon.
"They are high as kites about everything new we have added to it, because we've not just repaired it, we've improved it."
The attacks at St Mark's got so bad that headteacher Mrs Barclay believed it was only a matter of time before the school was burned to the ground.
The numerous attacks included vandals deliberately setting trees and a bin alight.
Pupils were so distraught by what was happening to their school that they wrote letters to the local MP and councillors asking them to install CCTV and lights to scare vandals away.
The full article contains 478 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
