KEY POINTS:
Police believe a 12-year-old boy was heavily involved in the arson which destroyed a Maori immersion school in Northland on Saturday afternoon.
A 16-year-old girl appeared in Kaikohe Youth Court today charged with arson after the blaze at Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Taumarere in Moerewa, near Kawakawa, which destroyed an estimated 90 per cent of the school's old wooden buildings.
She was remanded on bail and will reappear at the same court on April 7. She cannot be named for legal reasons.
Detective Constable Chris Fouhy said a 13-year-old girl, a 13-year-old boy and a 12-year-old boy had also been picked up by police but they have been referred to youth aid as they are too young to appear in Youth Court.
"The 12-year-old boy probably has as much involvement in the arson as the 16-year-old girl," he said today.
Mr Fouhy said police believed all four were parties to the attacks on the school.
He said they were also believed to be part of a group of seven or eight which vandalised the school the day before the fire.
"There was significant damage done to the school pool, and a school shed was also broken into and windows were smashed in the changing rooms."
All those involved were between the ages of 10 and 16, Mr Fouhy said.
The school has about 50 students. It was not due to re-open after Easter until tomorrow or Thursday and Mr Fouhy was unsure where students would gather.
Northland fire safety officer Terry Baylis said earlier it appeared someone had broken into the school's main administration block.
He said there may have been an attempt to set another part of the school alight as well.
Northland Labour List MP Shane Jones said today he was shocked by the arson attack.
"Agony is what I felt when I surveyed the charred remains of the kura kaupapa school and the sight was made more miserable by the extensive presence of graffiti scrawled across the walls of the school."
He said local kaumatua had expressed anguish at the loss of parts of the school which had stood for up to 97 years.
"Given the cruel nature of this arson and the callous disregard the taggers have, I hope the Moerewa community leaders hold the families of these culprits to account."
Mr Jones said he had already spoken to Ministry of Education officials and would lobby the Minister of Education to ensure no effort was spared to get this school up and running again.
- NZPA
