A 17-year-old boy has been charged after allegedly setting fire to Cowra High School in central-west New South Wales, causing extensive damage to the school's administration building and forcing students to learn from home while the site is made safe. Police allege the teenager, a former student of the school, broke into the campus on Monday evening before deliberately lighting the fire and posting videos of the incident on social media.
Emergency services were called to Cowra High School shortly after 7:00 pm on Monday following reports of a large fire. Fire and Rescue NSW crews, assisted by the Rural Fire Service, arrived within minutes to find the administration block engulfed in flames. Firefighters worked quickly to contain the blaze, preventing it from spreading to other parts of the school, although nearby buildings sustained smoke damage. No injuries were reported.
Following an investigation, police arrested the teenager at a home in Cowra at about 10:00 pm the same night. He has been charged with damaging property by fire causing more than $15,000 in damage, breaking and entering with intent to destroy property valued at more than $60,000, and uploading footage of the alleged offence to social media. The teenager was refused bail and was scheduled to appear before a Children's Court.
Police allege the teenager filmed the incident and shared videos online shortly after the fire began. Authorities are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident and have indicated they are looking into whether other people may have been involved.
Cowra High School Principal Anthony Hamer said the fire caused significant damage to parts of the campus and that the immediate priority was ensuring the safety of staff and students. As a precaution, students were instructed to participate in learning from home while engineers and emergency services assessed the affected buildings and cleared the site for reopening.
NSW Education Minister Prue Carr described the incident as deeply upsetting for the Cowra community, saying schools should be safe places where students can learn and teachers can work without fear of criminal damage. Local Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke also expressed support for the school community and said government agencies would work together to assist with repairs and recovery.
The administration building sustained extensive fire damage, and smoke affected nearby facilities. Authorities have not yet released an estimate of the total repair cost, but investigations into the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage are continuing. Police are asking anyone with additional information or footage to contact investigators.
The incident has shocked the regional community of Cowra, where the high school serves hundreds of students from the surrounding district. Education officials say they are working to restore normal school operations as quickly as possible while ensuring the campus is safe for students and staff to return.
