Pupils appeal over vandalism

Police and pupils at Tullygally Primary School who took part in a leaflet drop highlighting the School Watch Scheme, Included are School Principal Mrs Kirsty Andrews, Vice Principal Mr Johnny Guy and Constables Gary McKeown and Tony Acton of Brownlow Neighbourhood Policing Team.

The scheme is aimed at tackling vandalism at schools, with Tullygally suffering several incidents in the past number of months and also encountering youths climbing on the  roof.

Members of the Brownlow Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) joined pupils in a leaflet drop in the area asking the local community to watch for suspicious activity in the vicinity of the school and report it promptly to police using the 101 number (or in an emergency 999).

School principal Kirsty Andrews said: “We have done a lot of work with the local community and our enrolment has risen from 141 to 231 children.

“We need to stamp this anti-social behaviour out.”

She also pointed to initiatives in the pipeline with Pat McGibbon and his ‘Train to Be Smart’ project - with an aim to making the school’s all weather pitch 3G and becoming a community hub aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of everyone involved.

She said: “It’s time for our local politicians to put their money where their mouths are and invest to get young people off the street.”

Constable Gary McKeown explained the reasoning behind the leaflet drop: “We want to enlist community support for School Watch.

“We are asking for the public’s help to protect the school. It’s the first time in many years vandals have targeted the school.”

He also appealed to parents to make sure they know where their children are and that they are not engaging in vandalism which can impact already stretched school budgets.