More than £1,000 has been raised for a school in Darlington after equipment was stolen over the bank holiday.
St. Mary’s Cockerton CE Primary School revealed in a Facebook post that bikes and scooters for the reception outside classroom had been stolen over the weekend.
The post now has more than 30,000 views on Facebook and has received an outpouring of support and help from the local community after distraught pupils made posters appealing for the return of their bikes.
Wendy Aitkens, headteacher, said: “I came to school early Tuesday morning, I’m usually behind the caretaker.
“He had already been in doing his usual morning grounds inspection, where he double checks everything is okay.
“He discovered quite quickly that intruders had been in the grounds.”
After a closer inspection, staff and students noticed that many of the bikes and scooters had gone missing with only a few broken parts left behind.
Ms Aitkens said the theft has greatly impacted staff and students, adding: “We take a huge pride in our school, and we have magnificent grounds that people don’t realise. We are so lucky.
“We have over the years had to put in addition perimeter fencing unfortunately.”
“There was a shock wave that went through the school.”
She added: “To know that people came in and wilfully destroyed them and left them all over the Cockerton area, in the beck and the park, just everywhere, handles ripped off, it’s just why on earth would you do that, it’s just horrible.”
The pupils took action, making posters to find their lost bikes that turned out to be a great lesson in independence.
"They were very very upset and passionate,” said Ms Aitkens.
“So, the class teacher shared them with me and so I put them up on the Facebook post.
“It was more really to show what the children can do independently now as they have been in school for only a year. But then it went absolutely crazy.”
Ms Aitkens said its not the first break-in the Darlington school has suffered, adding: “It happened a while ago. I ended up wading through the beck and I recovered about five bikes that had just been taken and dumped in the beck - which is really upsetting.”
A GoFundMe page was set up which has now attracted more than £1,000, on top of a £200 donation from a local building company and a delivery of two new boxed bikes from someone unknown.
Two of the scooters have been found, with one returned to the school and the other being repaired.
Ms Aitkens said: “The kindness from the community has been overwhelming. It’s been incredible and wonderful to see that back for the children.
“But the random acts of kindness and the 30,000 people who know of our plight, it’s been a lovely experience for them.”
She added: “It’s turned it around to see how our community can come together for our young children. It’s been amazing.”
These random acts of kindness have greatly impacted the school and made such an impression on the headteacher, who added: “It’s restored our faith in humankind in some ways.
“They (the children) made these amazing posters. It was a lovely writing opportunity as they are just learning to write, and they did it all completely independently.”
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