Head's disgust over thefts from Wolverhampton school

The North East Wolverhampton Academy was raided during the school summer holidays with thieves also causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Bal Pierpoint said she was bitterly disappointed that her pupils had been stolen from but vowed that the new school term would be unaffected.

In total 150 netbooks, 60 laptops, 30 iPads and 20 PCs were taken, while storage cabinets were ripped open and damaged. Police believe the raiders scaled fencing outside the school before forcing open two rear doors and gaining entry to an IT suite at the school's Foxley Campus in Marsh Lane.

Ms Pierpoint said: "I'm bitterly disappointed people could steal from a school when they know the items are for the benefit of young children.

"What kind of mentality do they have? I'm thoroughly disgusted that people could take from a school in the manner in which they did. You have to be pretty low. It's almost beyond words."

The building is being renovated as part of the Building Schools for the Future programme.

It was handed over to construction firm Carillion at the end of last term and pupils won't use it again until the work is completed. It is hoped that pupils will not be affected when they start the new school term

The principal added: "We will do everything we can to ensure that despite this quite considerable theft our students will not be disadvantaged.Our students deserve the best we can offer.

The netbooks were Asus models, while the PCs were Dell and the laptops were HP 15-inch makes.

The black iPads were all in Targus flip cover cases and, when they were taken, would have had the academy logo set as a screen saver, whilst the Dell PCs were black with a silver trim on the front.