Teen appears in court in connection with Woodmill High School fire

The 14-year-old boy - who can't be named for legal reasons - has been charged with wilful fireraising to danger of life

Woodmill High
Published 27th Aug 2019
Last updated 27th Aug 2019

A 14-year-old boy's appeared in connection with a blaze which ripped through Woodmill High in Dunfermline, leaving "no part of the building untouched".

The teen appeared in private and was charged with wilful fireraising to danger of life.

The Kirkcaldy youngster made no plea and has been released on bail.

It comes after Fife Council revealed every part of the school has been affected by the blaze.

Executive Director, Carrie Lindsay said: ā€œNo part of the building is left untouched by the fire. The wing containing the assembly hall, sports halls and the technical block is the least damaged, but there are no classroom facilities that will enable us to re-open the school in the short to medium-term.

ā€œWeā€™re working flat out to investigate the feasibility of a range of options for our pupils. There are lots of things to take into account, such as pupil numbers, available spaces, timetabling across year groups and transport.

"Weā€™ve had lots of offers of help, all of which weā€™re grateful for, and all of which are being explored to find the best possible solutions.

ā€œI hope to be able to give parents and our young people some more information about short-term arrangements tomorrow.

ā€œIn the meantime, weā€™re doing a range of things to support our pupils and their families.

ā€œWoodmill High teachers are meeting at nearby St Columbaā€™s High School every day. Staff are pulling together homework packages which will be accessible from the schoolā€™s website, as well as trying to arrange some practical sessions in local community facilities for senior pupils this week.

ā€œWeā€™ve also arranged free lunch clubs for the remainder of the week to allow pupils to come together in a safe place.

School support staff will also be on hand at each lunch club venue to talk to pupils and any parents who choose to go along.

ā€œWeā€™ll be arranging an information session for Woodmill parents and carers later this week and will issue details as soon as we can.

ā€œParents, carers and pupils will continue to hear directly from headteacher Mr Sandy McIntosh and his team.ā€