Senior teacher Neil Mawdsley and vice-chair of governors Caroline Lamb outside the damaged building. 10/2/5FIRE-RAVAGED Broad Chalke primary school is set to re-open after next week's half-term holiday.

Plans are under way to repair most of the damage caused by the serious fire on Tuesday last week, which virtually gutted one classroom with adjoining classrooms being damaged by smoke, heat and water.

Pupils returned to the school yesterday just for one day before breaking up for their half-term holiday.

The week-long break will allow builders into the school to repair the blackened classrooms and attempt to make the main school building liveable.

The school has decided not to bring in temporary mobile classrooms but to repair most of the fire damage and use the school hall, the village hall and the new sports centre pavilion for some classes.

The 143 pupils and teachers were evacuated after an explosion and fire ripped through a classroom in the main school building.

Children, who earlier had been in the classroom, were outside in the playground when a loud bang was heard.

Power to the whole school was lost and then teachers spotted black smoke billowing from the classroom.

As the school's fire alarms sounded, the teachers set in motion the complete evacuation of the school, taking children across to the church on the opposite side of the road for safety.

More than 20 firefighters tackled the blaze, which is thought to have started in an electrical box in the classroom.

As the school tries to return to "as near normal a life as possible", governors and the School Committee are pressing ahead with the ambitious plan to build a brand new £1.7m school on a large parcel of land adjoining the sports centre near Knighton Road, which is being offered to them by a local landowner.

What effect last week's fire will have on the project is still being assessed by the governors, headteacher Margaret Pearson and members of the Salisbury Diocesan Board of Education and Wiltshire county council.

Under the plan the existing school will be demolished - once the new school has been built -and the land sold for housing.

Six new homes will be built off Knighton Road using part of the land given to the village for the new school. Three will be for private sale and three will be low-cost homes for local people,

The sale of these houses plus the money received from the sale of the existing school site will go towards the cost of the new school together with around £660,000 received from the government.

There will be a shortfall of £300,000 which it is intended local residents will raise.

The government cash was to have been used to provide more buildings on the present school site but it was felt the site is already cramped and there is insufficient room for any more classrooms.

Governors face a problem because under the new two-tiered system, Broad Chalke village school, which has achieved Beacon status, will have to start two new classes so it can take children up to and including the age of 11.

This will see the school roll shoot up from its present 143 pupils to 165 and could reach 180.

They feel the school has outgrown its present site and it would be a waste of money to spend nearly three-quarters of a million pounds on the site.

Far better, they say, to build a new school with all modern facilities that can double up as a community facility.

The governors are about to submit a planning application for six houses off Knighton Road.

A parish council survey has revealed that, while there are some objections to the six houses from residents living in Knighton Road, the majority of residents favour the plan.