Gooische School shocked by theft of beloved peacock

Only three months ago, the statue was festively unveiled and now it has disappeared. “It happened last Sunday, in broad daylight,” says director Annette Blonk. “On the surveillance cameras we saw that the peacock was removed with a lot of violence. Really terrible.”

Students and colleagues, everyone was shocked at the news. “I was really shocked and I thought: who would do such a thing,” says Liv Koppenol from group 7. “Apparently the thief kicked the statue hard to get it free,” says Annique van Haarlem from group 8 angrily. “It was a very beautiful peacock, so somehow I understand that it is stolen,” adds Julia Kinsbergen from group 7. “Everyone wants this peacock!”

In the video below, the students tell how special the peacock was.

The students worked on the sculpture for months together with sculptor Marloes Eerden. She is also very shocked by the robbery. “I’ve been a sculptor for thirty years and I’ve never experienced anything like it,” she says. “We have worked with heart and soul on it and suddenly it is gone. Really very sad.”

The peacock had since become the school’s mascot. “We all contributed to the creation,” says director Annette Blonk. “All the children have drawn, some have helped with the golden eyes of the peacock. This was really the project of all of us together.”

Proud of the peacock

The statue stood next to the entrance to the school. The sign under the broken legs still reads ‘As proud as a peacock of you’. “He was proud of us and we were proud of him,” says Sarah Ziermans from group 8. “He really made the school a bit more beautiful, a bit happier, so to speak,” Julia says.

Despite the razor-sharp camera images, there is still no trace of the thief, but the students hope that he will change his mind and bring the peacock back. “And if that doesn’t happen, we’ll make sure there’s a new image,” says director Annette. The materials have become more expensive, but the sculptor still has the mold. “I would like to cast a new one, no problem,” says Marloes.

In the video below, the students tell a little more about how they contributed to the creation of the peacock. “It was such a fun project. Art and education came together here,” says sculptor Marloes.