ARTFUL pranksters certainly put a school firmly on the global map - after drawing a giant penis on the roof.

For the outline of the appendage was so huge it was even spotted from space, picked up on satellite images featured on the website Google Earth.

It is understood the drawing was the handiwork of former pupils at the £2,906-a-term Yarm School, near Stockton, which is one of the country's leading independent schools.

A similar image was also found burnt into the grass in the grounds of the school - which boasts an A-level pass rate of 100 per cent.

Although the outline has since been scrubbed off the roof of The Friarage building, which forms the focus of the senior school site, the image can still be seen on Google Earth, a geographic search tool.

Yarm School, founded in 1978, says on its website that it offers more than an academic education for pupils.

"We firmly believe in educating for life, encouraging our boys and girls to discover and develop their many and varied talents," it states.

Last night a red-faced school spokesman told The Northern Echo: "We were very disappointed to discover this vandalism on The Friarage roof.

"We called the police and removed the paint immediately."