Vandals have caused thousands of dollars of damage to Marton School's art centre.

Vandals have left a Marton school out-of-pocket after a late-night raid left thousands of dollars of damage.

A piano and electric drum kit were among several items ruined when 25 litres of paint was splashed over them, leaving Marton School's art centre uninhabitable.

Streaks of paint were also dispersed over the surrounding walls and windows.

CHRISTINE WHITCOMBE The school's piano was covered in paint, destroying the keys.

The incident happened some time on Saturday night. It was discovered by the school's caretaker on Sunday, when he noticed paint splashed across the inside windows.

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Principal Brya Dixon was "absolutely devastated" after receiving the news.

CHRISTINE WHITCOMBE Paint was sprayed over the walls.

"The fact that someone would do that to a room in a primary school is incredible," she said. "It's a waste of resources for the kids.

"It just seems like such a purposeless thing to do. I can't explain why someone would want to cause so much damage to a primary school room.

"It's a room we use for art, but we also do a lot of music tutoring in it too."

Dixon believed the vandals levered the window to enter.

She said the school had received an overwhelming amount of support since a Facebook post on Monday broke the news to the community.

"It's a bump in the road, but hopefully it makes us tighter. We'll move on. We'll clean it up and it'll be business as usual."

Commercial cleaners are coming to assess the mess.

The main school buildings are alarmed. Dixon said they would be installing alarms in the art centre.

The intrusion comes after a year of celebration for the school, which marked 150 years of educating Rangitikei district children in October.

The school's roots go back to 1825, when a one-room shack was opened.

In 1866, a two-room building was erected and official recognition as a school was given.

The roll of the school reached its peak in the late 1960s, with more than 700 pupils.