FROM the outside you would never guess that this was a school packed with eager pupils ready to start their summer term.

The boarded-up windows, charred beams and demolition warning signs at Middleton St George Primary School, near Darlington, suggest nothing so much as a burnt-out empty shell, long since vacated.

It is less than two months since a massive fire, lit by arsonists, ripped through this building, destroying the hall, three classrooms and decades of hard work.

But yesterday morning, more than 240 pupils, eight teachers and a handful of support staff, many of whom watched in horror as the school went up in flames, returned.

"When we saw this place after the fire, I honestly never thought we would be coming back here," said acting deputy head Catherine Pollard.

"But the community has pulled together and worked incredibly hard so that we can reopen. It has totally pulled us together as a team."

For staff and parents, much of the two-week Easter break has been spent getting the inhabitable half of the school up to scratch.

Darlington Borough Council has installed temporary classrooms and a hall, salvaged and decorated classrooms inside, and built a wall across the middle of the school to hide the damage wreaked by the flames. New books and classroom equipment have also been provided.

Since the blaze on February 26, the pupils have been taught at an empty school on the Firthmoor estate, in Darlington.

But Mrs Pollard says staff and pupils were desperate to get back to the village.

"It was lovely that we were able to move to Firthmoor, it was like a holiday, but then we wanted to be back home," she said.

"After the fire there was a feeling of total devastation. We lost so much.

"My classroom was destroyed and I lost 17 years of work. How do you ever get that back?

"But this morning everyone was just so excited to be back. Now we can try to return to normal."

Ten-year-old Dale Johnston said: "I was nearly crying when it happened.

"The school has been in the village longer than anything else so it was really sad. I watched the fire and I just thought we'd never come back.

"It was all right at Firthmoor, but not as good as here. This is our school and we prefer it."

Adam Kirkpatrick, nine, agreed. He said: "It feels like we are back home. I just thought it would be all burnt out, but it's much better than I expected."

Louise Patan, ten, said: "It looks a bit horrible from outside, but it's still our school and we're proud of it. We've all been looking forward to coming back. But we can't understand why anyone would do this to our school."

The council plans to start building a £3m primary school in the village at the end of next year.

In the meantime, pupils and staff are concentrating on settling back into their old surroundings.

"The mood today is really positive," said teacher Mark Darling. "Basically, we feel we are back where we belong."

* See The Northern Echo on Wednesday, May 7, for the pupils' own story about their experiences.