Teenager given referral order after fire at London Oratory School

A 16-year-old boy has been given a referral order after starting a fire at a prestigious Catholic school in west London which caused £2 million worth of damage.

A major incident was declared after smoke and orange flames broke out in the atrium of the London Oratory School in Fulham on December 27 last year.

The fire was on the 4th floor of the school library and the building and surrounding area had to be evacuated, Angela Mahadeo, prosecuting, told Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

When the defendant was interviewed by police, he gave a prepared statement in which he said he got on to the roof and started smoking and some ash went on to a piece of paper which went on to other pieces of paper, Ms Mahadeo added.

Edward Fenner, defending, said the youth went to the school “seeking to commit suicide”.

A statement from the school’s headmaster Daniel Wright was read out by Ms Mahadeo, which was written in May, in which he said the cost of the damage at that point was in the region of £2 million.

He said 1,105 pupils missed five days of on-site education following the incident, and 360 pupils missed 13 days.

Mr Wright said: “Flames broke through the translucent roof exposing the library below to the elements.

“Smoke, water, glass, burned matter from the fire and damage from exposure to the elements have rendered the library and its 25,000 books an insurance write-off.”

He added the library has been put out of action until September 2025, 11 classrooms were periodically unusable, and “significant amounts” of science equipment were damaged irreparably.

Mr Wright said: “This incident has caused serious disruption to the school.”

He added: “The staff have been saddened by the fire and morale was low. It’s too early to say whether the fire will affect staff turnover.

“The fire was a very public event reported in the national news. It can’t reflect well on the reputation of this prestigious school.”

The youth, who cannot be named because of his age, was arrested by police on the same day and initially denied a charge of arson before later pleading guilty to the offence on September 2.

He was also charged with arson with recklessness for endangering life and assaulting an emergency worker – and denied both offences.

During a judgment hearing last month, district judge Andrew Sweet ruled the endangering life charge should be dismissed as he believed the defendant “did consider his actions” and “was intending to try and harm himself rather than anyone else”.

The teenager wrote a note of apology and made a 999 call immediately after the fire, but also kicked a responding police constable, the court heard previously.

The judge ruled the defendant’s behaviour towards the officer was “reckless” and found him guilty of assaulting an emergency worker last month.

Mr Fenner said the defendant is of good character and had a depressive episode at the time of the offences.

The youth’s mother told the court he is a “fantastic young man” and “life and soul of our house”, and his mental health is in a “much better place now”.

The defendant told the judge: “I am sorry and I’m not the same person that I was a year ago.”

District judge Andrew Sweet gave the defendant a referral order for 10 months and ordered him to pay £100 compensation to the police officer and a £26 victim surcharge.

Mr Sweet said: “A lot of damage was caused and a lot of disruption.

“You knew that the school was not occupied, that was one of the factors I took into account when I heard the trial about endangering life.”

He added that an assessment has been made that the youth is of low risk of re-offending and he agrees with that.