Pupils to move to another school following fire at Ballantrae Primary
A huge blaze broke out at the school on Monday night
Last updated 5th Jun 2018
Pupils are being moved to new premises following a major fire at their village school in South Ayrshire.
Emergency services were called to Ballantrae Primary School at 8.38pm on Monday after a fire broke out in a building which was under construction.
The fire, which was contained in the main school building, caused extensive damage to the existing classrooms and early years provision at the school.
A new extension, which is currently under construction, was unaffected.
Headteacher Yvonne Templeton said: “We're all devastated by what's happened and really can't believe it.
“Our school is very much at the heart of the community in Ballantrae and I know this will have an impact on everyone not just within the school, but right across our village.
“However, we can all be grateful that no-one was hurt in the fire.
“My focus will be on supporting our children, staff, parents and carers while we're decanted from the school we know and love, but I know we'll take the spirit and ethos of Ballantrae primary wherever we are.”
The 58 P1-P7 children are now expected move to Girvan Primary School from Thursday, once suitable arrangements are in place to transport pupils and staff.
Plans are also under way to relocate the 13 early years children to Ballantrae community centre, keeping them within the local community.
Firefighters tackled the blaze on Monday night with six appliances attending at the height of the incident.
There were no reports of any casualties and the school was shut on Tuesday because of the incident.
Councillor William Grant, South Ayrshire Council's portfolio holder for lifelong learning, said: “I'm pleased we have been able to move so quickly to put alternative arrangements in place for children and staff, keeping the loss of education time to an absolute minimum, which is a positive outcome.
“At this time it's too early for us to have a clear picture of the extent of the damage to the school building and the work that will be involved to bring it back into use.
“However, there's no doubt interim education arrangements will need to run well into the new school year and it could be many months before pupils can return.”