As the summer holidays approach, head teachers will be fearing one of the school year's less desirable traditions.

Every summer, thousands of schools face the increased risk of arson and vandalism, with unoccupied buildings proving vulnerable to bored teenagers.

According to the Arson Prevention Bureau, the repair bill for school arson reached over £60m last year - a sum that could have paid for the building of dozens of new schools.

The bureau, set up by the Home Office and the Association of British Insurers, said that an average of three schools a day are subject to arson attacks.

And with schools about to break up for the summer holidays, past experience suggests that this will see an upturn in arson and vandalism against schools - wrecking buildings and ruining the work of pupils and teachers.

"Summer holidays are the danger time for such attacks," said a spokesperson for the bureau.

"School buildings are empty and arsonists, who are mostly young people, seem to particularly target them."

According to the bureau, which advises on how schools can lessen risk, most of these arson attacks are carried out by teenagers, who break in to school campuses which are often difficult to secure.

Making a drama

And this year the bureau has launched a more creative approach to cutting the number of arson incidents.

In a pilot project launched with insurance company Zurich Municipal and Nottingham city council, young people are being shown a play illustrating the seriousness of the consequences of starting fires.

The bureau claim that this has been a success with a reduction in insurance claims from schools in the city.

In previous years there have been local and national campaigns to tackle the problem, including the use of CCTV cameras and awareness-raising seminars.

But the open design of schools and the absence of the type of security guards associated with commercial properties has made it difficult to stop determined intruders.