Two teenage boys charged over fire at Deniliquin High School
The high school, which has 500 students, has been significantly damaged. (ABC News: Nicola Ceccato)
In short:
Two teenage boys have been charged over a weekend fire that extensively damaged Deniliquin High School in the NSW Riverina.
The school's 500 students are either learning from home or at other sites in the town.
What's next:
The pair have been released on conditional bail and will face a children's court next week.
Two teenage boys have been charged over a weekend fire that has extensively damaged a school in south-west New South Wales.
The blaze broke out in a two-storey building at Deniliquin High School in the early hours of Saturday morning, destroying 30 classrooms.
Officers from the Murray River Police District formed Strike Force Soderblom to investigate and on Monday arrested two boys aged 15 and 16.
The pair have been charged with aggravated break and enter and destroying a property by fire in company.
Both teens have been granted conditional bail and will appear before a children's court next week.
Thirty classrooms at the school have been damaged by the blaze. (ABC News: Nicola Ceccato)
Detective Chief Inspector Mick Fuller from the Murray River Police District said the arrests followed a multi-agency investigation.
"We've had investigators from Fire and Rescue NSW that came from Sydney," he said.
"We've also had crime scene officers that came across from Albury.
"What I would say is the justice process needs to unfold but I note, being the only high school in Deniliquin, that obviously for the school community and the wider community, there's support around as people process what's occurred."
The school, which has 500 students, is currently non-operational and students are either learning from home or at other sites in the town.
Vincent Kelly says the long-term future is unknown at this stage. (ABC News: Nicola Ceccato)
The president of the school's Parents and Citizens Association, Vincent Kelly, said it remained unclear what the remaining weeks of the school year will look like.
"I think the impacts will come out over the coming days, as there's still lots of uncertainty for kids, as to where they're going on a daily basis and we're just going to have to help them work through that," he said.
"I think my only request to community at the minute is let's focus on the things we can control, and they are supporting each other and sharing experience and really trying to support our teaching staff and students to make sure they're OK."