POLICE are investigating an arson attack which badly damaged a former school building in Winterbourne.
A total of 16 fire crews from across the region were called to tackle the blaze at the derelict Silverhill School site in Swan Lane on the evening of July 12.
Fire investigators say the blaze (above) was started deliberately, and police have confirmed that an investigation is underway to find out who was responsible.
An Avon Fire & Rescue Service spokesperson said: “Crews from Temple fire station in Bristol, Kingswood, Patchway, Yate, Bedminster, Thornbury and Portishead attended the incident.”
The fire service was called in shortly after 7.10pm and it took until 10pm to extinguish the flames in the two-storey school building, with firefighters using multiple hoses and jets to bring the blaze under control.
Afterwards, they stayed on the scene throughout the night and the following morning, monitoring the building to ensure there was no chance of the remains reigniting.
A police spokesperson said: “We would ask anyone with information relating to a fire at a former school site in Winterbourne to please get in contact with us.
“The fire service informed us of an incident they were responding to in Swan Lane at about 7.35pm on July 12.
“There were no reported injuries.”
Police have called on anyone with video footage from the surrounding area to call 101 or contact them online, quoting the crime reference number 5224 181 746.
School closed four years ago
The former independent school, which had around 200 children aged from three months to 11 years on its roll, closed in July 2020, with the loss of 55 jobs.
At the time owners and operators Jenifer and Julian Capper blamed the deteriorating economic outlook for their decision, which also followed two scathing Ofsted reports.
They put the school’s 9.5 acre site up for sale.
Although a local property agent later drew up a planning statement to turn one of the school’s dormitories into a house, the only formal planning application to South Gloucestershire Council since then, made in early 2021, related to tree works.