The 14-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, set fire to the pillow’s stuffing and hurled the object onto the roof of the conservatory on 23 November, the Youth Court heard on Tuesday.
Firefighters were called to extinguish the blaze which had created a two foot hole in the building’s roof.
Two weeks earlier, the boy attempted to set fire to wiring at D’Hautree School House, but on that occasion the object failed to light.
Advocate Emma Wakeling, defending, said that her client, who pleaded guilty to two counts of arson and has no previous convictions, felt ‘very bad’ for what happened.
Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris said that it was lucky that the boy’s actions had not caused any further damage or injury.
‘The potential for major damage was clear – fires can be very dangerous things,’ he said.
‘This is the first time that you have found yourself in the court system and we really do not want to see you here again. It’s really important that you learn from this.’
Youth Court panel member Debbie Prosser added: ‘As Mr Harris says fire is very dangerous. It’s not just dangerous to other people, but also to you. As the saying goes, don’t play with fire because you could injure yourself as well as other people.’
The boy was sentenced to a six-month probation order.
