Children face five month wait to return to school following 'terrible' fire

The first lessons are getting underway at Scottish Borders Council's headquarters in Newtown St Boswells for pupils from the village primary.

Makeshift classrooms, and a canteen which doubles as a gym hall, have been created in unused offices on the ground floor of the local authority building, while the clean-up of the school continues following last month's fire.

Work spaces have been cleaned out and replaced with sand pits and other teaching utensils, while temporary flood barriers are being used to mark out an area of the car park for the playground.

Meanwhile, children who attend the local nursery are being bussed to Earlston - a daily nine-mile round-trip - until the Sprouston Road site is deemed safe.

A teenage boy has been charged in connection with the blaze on July 25th.

Education chiefs predict it could be next year before pupils are able to return to Newtown Primary, although the cost of the disruption hasn't yet been made known.

Councillors are due to be given an update when they meet tomorrow (Thursday).

Inviting us on a tour of the temporary classrooms ahead of pupils returning today, Julie Pirone, SBC's Executive Member for Education, Lifelong Learning and Youth Development, told Greatest Hits Radio: "It looks phenomenal.

"Everybody across all the council departments and the teaching staff at Newton Primary have worked really hard to get it ready for today."

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Concerns had been raised about the distance nursery children would have to travel, but parents were offered reassurance during a visit to the school in Earlston, which was only officially opened last year.

"There'll be measures in place if anybody falls ill or needs to come away during the day," Councillor Pirone explained. "It's not ideal, but they are in one of our brand new schools and nurseries. It is a phenomenal facility.

"I think everybody is happy with it and we'll be getting on with the repair job at the old school and nursery as quickly as we possibly can."

And she added: "I would really hope that by the time they start the new session in 2027, in January, that the children will all be back in their original home."

Almost 100 pupils - 81 primary and 14 nursery - are affected by the changes.

But Kevin Wilson - head teacher at both Newtown and Earlston primary schools - says staff have worked hard to ensure children won't miss out.

"We are going to continue with all of the events that we would have had planned for this term," he told us.

That includes art showcases and opportunities for parents to visit the school for open afternoons.

The head teacher revealed staff have been impressed by how quickly the council building has been transformed from office space into a functioning school - with parents and pupils being able to visit before the start of term.

"If I was to try and summarise their feelings when they came through the door (on Monday), I think there was a real joy and excitement," he said.

"Yes, it's change." But he added: "I think they'll see this as an opportunity, a wee adventure for us coming down here."

For Parent Council chair Alexander Paterson, the priority throughout has been making sure the children feel safe, settled and positive about their temporary home.

“There were concerns initially with it being a new situation, obviously coming from such a terrible event that happened,” he said.

“But I think they've done everything they can possible to ensure that this is an absolutely fantastic place for the kids to learn, where they're both safe and they're also going to enjoy it as well.”

And the children themselves appear ready for the change.

“They're well excited,” Mr Paterson said. “Kids are really resilient and I think that they're going to really enjoy coming here, and it's going to be an absolutely brilliant temporary home for them.”

The move is expected to last around 20 weeks, although the parents acknowledge that timetable could change.

“We know there's always going to be obstacles that come up that can push timescales out,” Mr Paterson said.

"It's a terrible, terrible thing to happen, but do you know what? The fire that's in the heart of this community will never be extinguished, and I think that's been proven over the last few weeks."

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