Pupils distraught after new computers stolen (From The Northern Echo)

Pupils distraught after new computers stolen

8:28am Monday 3rd December 2007 in News

CHILDREN have been left devastated after their award-winning primary school was broken into and 16 laptop computers stolen.

Cassop Primary School, near Durham City, was burgled late on Tuesday or in the early hours of Wednesday. Thieves got in though the kitchens and broke into a secure room where they stole computers worth £8,000.

The school hit the national headlines recently when it was named the greenest in the country at the National Teaching Awards.

Headteacher Jim McManners said: "The children are very upset. They were very pleased to get the computers and have been saving written work and all of their IT studies material on them.

"The teachers have spent a lot of time and effort putting software on the machines, and now we will have to do it all over again.

It is unpleasant that someone would be mean enough to do this to the school."

The distinctive RM Notebook computers, with blue, red and green keyboards, were an integral part of a computer room recently completed at the school They were part of a local network that cost Durham County Council £30,000 to install.

Inspector Ian Proud, of Durham Police, said: "These are very distinctive computers and easily identifiable.

"Whoever has taken them will no doubt be offering them for sale as cheap Christmas presents, but it will require a lot of time to make them look anonymous. I would urge people not to buy them and contact us immediately."

Anyone with information is asked to call 0845-60-60-365, or Crimestoppers on 0800-555-111.