A SCHOOL is marking the one-year anniversary of a fire which destroyed classrooms.

The junior block of Bincombe Valley School in Weymouth was gutted in a blaze during this week last August, which caused £500,000-worth of damage.

About 160 pupils moved into temporary classrooms after the fire, believed to have been sparked by a smouldering gas burner left by a workman.

Builders stepped in to repair the badly damaged blocks, and refurbishment at the Littlemoor school is expected to be completed by the end of October.

The £1 million project will see classrooms installed with updated computer equipment and interactive whiteboards.

Plumbing, plastering and asbestos work has already been completed by builders.

Headteacher Les Strong said: "Over the last year a lot of work has been carried out by many people to repair the damage caused by the fire.

"It has been a big project, but when the new and improved classrooms are officially unveiled at the end of the October everything will have been worth it.

"It was a real blow when the fire happened, but the repair work has progressed well and so it seems something good might actually come from the experience.

"The days after the fire were extremely hectic, especially for staff, but everyone coped admirably in difficult circumstances.

"We salvaged what we could and I recall all the staff carrying equipment into the playground in the pouring rain.

"Everyone pulled together and it was a great team effort."

Builder Bluestone, which has also carried out work at Westfield School in Weymouth, won the contract to repair the block.

Mr Strong, who said Bluestone was progressing well with the project, added that the school planned to keep a memento from the fire as a memorial.

He said: "Bluestone has been extremely professional in the work and is on time to complete the task.

"Once the work is finished we plan to use a old school clock as a small memorial to the fire.

"The clock, which was positioned in a corridor, melted and stopped in the heat of the blaze but was later rescued.

"Our caretaker is looking after it at the moment but we plan to put it up in the school as a reminder to what happened."

Following the blaze, pupils returned to school a week late at the end of August.

The block was sealed off and work started to clear out charred desks, furniture, equipment, books, displays and work.

Pupils held fundraising events to help pay for new equipment, raising nearly £2,000.

"When sad events like the fire happen, it is really heartening when everyone rallies round to help like they did," said Mr Strong.

"The children, their parents and the community in general all helped out.

"Now we're just looking forward to the classrooms being finished I'm sure there will be a lot of smiles and happy faces on that day."