A West Devon primary school headteacher has thanked the ‘wonderful community’ who rallied round to make sure that the children and teachers were accommodated after fire broke out overnight on their premises.

Melody Sterry said the school also owed a ‘huge debt’ to neigbhours who raised the alarm early and ‘probably saved our school’.

A random cabling fault is believed to have caused the fire in the night of Tuesday, February 7. Within 24 hours of the emergency, staff had set up a temporary school at the village hall, so the children only lost one day of learning. However, allthough the fire was small, and the alarm was raised quickly, smoke damage was extensive.so the school will be out of action for some time.

An appeal has been launched to raise money to replace smoke-damaged books.

Melody, headteacher of Lamerton Church of England Primary School, said: ‘Our first priority, naturally, was the children’s safety. Within 24 hours our children were safely learning and playing in a completely different venue, and it is a testimony to the children’s resilience and staff’s dedication that they have made this happen together. I would also like to thank members of our wonderful community who have made this challenging situation so much easier. From the parish council and village hall committee who sprang into action, our church community, and our fantastic school families. I’d particularly like to thank Kath and Martin Davey, caretakers and neighbours, who raised the alarm so early – those saved minutes probably saved our school, and we owe them a huge debt.’

Chair of governors Nick Henderson said: ‘For a small school like ours, which has already coped with Covid, we may have been hit hard by this random accident. In fact, the school has once again shown its strength – by its spirit, its kindness and its determination to succeed. The staff have been amazing. We will get the building back in shape as soon as we can, but the education of the children comes first, and this has been the team’s focus. Local support has been quite humbling – we would like to thank everyone for their swift response.’

The school will be undergoing professional cleaning, refitting and repairs, before reopening. Lamerton is soon to join the Learning Academy Partnership Trust School Trust (LAP), whih has been supporting the school in the current emergency. Meanwhile, the school community is welcoming financial donations to replace the smoke-damaged books in their school library.

Esther Manwaring, chair of Friends of Lamerton School, said: ‘We were heartbroken that many of the children’s books have been damaged. So we’re hoping that people might donate so that the children have the right books for their age group. This way, they can continue to have opportunity to read and learn.’

To donate, please visit PayPal.Me/Lamertonpta or email [email protected]