BROKEN glass and suspected traces of drugs have forced a Cinderford primary school to abandon its valuable outdoor learning area for several months.

Staff at Forest View Primary School were horrified to discover that over the summer holidays the area had been the hub for alleged anti-social behaviour.

Headteacher, Mr Ben Lyons said: “We estimate it will cost at least £2,000 to put right. The outdoor learning area, which is within the school’s grounds, is designed to enhance pupils’ learning experiences. It is part of the Early Years curriculum to have access to the area.

“A teacher inspected the area last week before a lesson and found it in an unusable state. There was broken glass and what appeared to be drug paraphernalia as well as rubbish everywhere. We have informed the police and they have been carrying out their investigations.

“The damage has meant we have had to close the area to children until we can make it safe. In the meantime, the children of Forest View will miss out on a valuable learning resource for some months to come. We also run sessions for some of the local pre-school providers who will also now miss out.

“We are now waiting to hear back from our insurance assessors to see if we are covered but it is likely that we won’t be because the area is a ‘natural area’. In the 10 years the area has been here we have never encountered such problems.

“The actions of the people responsible have had a huge impact on the school and the last thing we want is for any further occurrences.”

A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Police said: “The incident was reported to us on September 17 and we are classing it as arson. Unknown offenders burnt trees, broke large tree branches and set fire to the willow canopy. We are appealing to anybody who has any information to call us on 101 quoting incident number 115 of September 17.”