Arsonists target school hours after visit by Duchess of Cambridge is announced, causing £46,000 of damage
Arsonists, suspected to be three
teenagers, attacked a Manchester primary school after a visit by the
Duchess of Cambridge was announced.
The Duchess will stick with her commitment to The Willows Primary School on the Wythenshawe estate on April 23, but now teachers are working round the clock to get the destroyed playground back in working order.
Headteacher Anne Whitehead said: 'We were devastated when we heard about the fire, but we're not going to let them beat us.'
The Duchess, whose first child is due in July, will be accompanied by John Bishop, a comedian and Comic Relief ambassador.
She will meet local families to hear their experiences and to launch a charity initiative for families affected by substance abuse.
The school is one of Manchester's most successful primary schools, despite the high levels of local unemployment and poverty.
But now its £46,000 playground, on the deprived estate where Channel 4 comedy Shameless is filmed, will need substantial rebuilding.
Catherine will not be the first Duchess to visit the deprived area. Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, famously tried to help locals in a 2009 ITV documentary dubbed The Duchess and The Estate in which she spent 10 days there.
Mrs Whitehead said that locals and businesses had already offered to help rebuild the park.
Some 66,000 people live on the estate, making it one of the largest in Europe.
Greater Manchester Police Inspector Caroline Hemmingway said: 'These arson attacks could easily have resulted in far more serious consequences if the fire had spread to the school.'
Three 13-year-old boys have been arrested on suspicion of arson following the fire.
The Duchess will stick with her commitment to The Willows Primary School on the Wythenshawe estate on April 23, but now teachers are working round the clock to get the destroyed playground back in working order.
Headteacher Anne Whitehead said: 'We were devastated when we heard about the fire, but we're not going to let them beat us.'
Arson attack: Fire engulfing the playground at
The Willows Primary School in Wythenshawe ahead of a visit by the
Duchess of Cambridge
Fire-damaged: Teachers and locals are now
working to rebuild the playground ahead of the Duchess's visit later
this month after the shocking attack on the school
She will meet local families to hear their experiences and to launch a charity initiative for families affected by substance abuse.
The school is one of Manchester's most successful primary schools, despite the high levels of local unemployment and poverty.
Charity trip: The Duchess of Cambridge, left,
and comedian John Bishop are still planning to visit the school to meet
local families and hear their experiences
Catherine will not be the first Duchess to visit the deprived area. Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, famously tried to help locals in a 2009 ITV documentary dubbed The Duchess and The Estate in which she spent 10 days there.
Notorious: The estate is used as the backdrop to Channel 4's hit programme Shameless
'The Duchess and the Estate': The Duchess of
York speaking to a young couple on the Wythenshawe estate for her
documentary in 2009
Greater Manchester Police Inspector Caroline Hemmingway said: 'These arson attacks could easily have resulted in far more serious consequences if the fire had spread to the school.'
Three 13-year-old boys have been arrested on suspicion of arson following the fire.
