KGS staff form clean up crew after overnight vandalism

A group of Kirkwall Grammar School staff has launched a clean up mission, this afternoon, Saturday, after the outside of the school building was vandalised overnight.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident, in which red and blue spray paint was scrawled across the walls of the school.

KGS has been closed to most pupils for over a fortnight due to the ongoing threat of coronavirus. Anarchic symbols, defamatory statements and references to COVID-19 have been sprayed all around the building.

The schools head teacher, Don Hawkins, is part of the clean up crew who have met this afternoon in an attempt to scrub the spray paint off of the walls. He is upset, for both the community and the children who have spent so much of their time at the school, to see the building vandalised.

“The building is only five years old,” he explained, pressure washer in hand. 

“It’s such a beautiful building, and it’s a shame that people would go out of their way to defame it. And what it’s done is get people out of their homes to clean it up.

“Normally, the building is open at night and is being used by the community, but instead it has been on lockdown, and that has provided the kind of opportunity for this sort of vandalism to take place — which is a shame.

“It’s a shame for the community and it’s a shame for all the kids who actually spend their time in this beautiful place.

“The police have been contacted last night, and they were here this morning taking photographs and looking at CCTV.”

Police believe that the vandalism took place between 9.45pm and 10pm last night, Friday, April 10. 

Officers would be interested in hearing from a male who was cycling through the grounds of the school and a male and female walking a dog through the school ground around this time.

Police are appealing for anyone with any information is requested to contact Kirkwall Police Station on 101.