Socrates high school suffered hundreds of thousands of euros worth of damage on Saturday night in the arson attack, which was originally thought to be linked to the school’s anti-homophobia campaigning, Italian media reported.

The police, however, announced on Tuesday that two minors and two adults had confessed to the crime, all of whom had either been suspended from the school or had their enrolment rejected, La Repubblica said.

The students reportedly concocted the idea over a few drinks at the beach on Saturday afternoon, Corriere della Sera reported. Between them they collected enough money to buy a canister of petrol, before heading back to the capital to put their plan into action.

The four broke into the school with the idea of setting a few benches on fire and “could not have imagined the flames would spread”, Corriere said.

The fire engulfed the first floor of the building and was described by Mayor Ignazio Marino on Twitter as “a crime against the city, public schools and the education of our children”.

The students’ lawyer said that they were “deeply sorry” for their actions and are “willing to pay for the damage and work to repair the damage caused by the fire”, La Repubblica reported.