TEENAGE arsonists are believed to have used bags of newspapers dumped at a nearby paper recycling point to set light to Middleton St George Primary School on Wednesday night.
Yesterday, detectives began house-to-house inquiries to discover the identities of a number of youths aged 12 and 13 who were seen around the vandal-plagued school minutes before the blaze, which destroyed two classrooms and 60pc of the roof. Police believe the arsonists had tried to start a fire outside the school entrance and on nearby fields.
The school had two windows boarded up following a vandalism attack four weeks ago.
Fire investigators said initial investigations suggested the blaze broke out at about 7.30 after newspapers taken from an overflowing recycling point were set alight under the eaves of the roof.
Det Sgt Dave Wilkes, of Darlington CID, said: "From what we have been told, it appears these youngsters first tried to start a fire on the pavement outside the school entrance and then on adjoining fields."
Education chiefs were meeting late yesterday to discuss the school's future and police issued a number - 01325 742111 - for anyone with information.
Fire crews who arrived on the scene at 7.50 on Wednesday night were still damping down at 7.30 yesterday morning.
At the height of the fire, eight appliances and an aerial platform attended from around County Durham. An incident command unit was also set up.
Yesterday morning, fire crews, a council surveyor and the council's director of education were on the scene assessing the safety of the building.
Mick Stephens, station officer at Darlington, said: "We managed to save 40pc of the roof and three out of five classrooms. Two classrooms, unfortunately, were severely damaged."
Stuart Muckle, council building control surveyor, hoped teachers would soon gain access to classrooms to recover children's work.
"The age and structure of the school helped contain the fire and most of the damage occurred when the roof collapsed," he said. "Even in the most badly damaged classrooms, work is still intact on the walls and papers in desks should be able to be recovered."
Yesterday, families stared in disbelief at the remains of their school. Close to tears, many recounted how their grandparents had attended the school, which was built in 1911, and how their own children had cried on Wednesday night as they watched the fire rage on.
Visibly shaken and fighting back tears, acting head teacher Janine Gleeson emerged yesterday morning from the WI building next to the school, where she had met teachers.
Gazing at the charred remains of the two worst affected classrooms, she said: "We are all absolutely devastated, but we are holding on and we will get through this. We are a strong team with a strong board of governors and supportive parents and we have a strong local education authority."
Karen Nunn, whose 14-year-old daughter, Rachael, raised the alarm when she saw smoke pouring from the roof, said: "Four generations of my family have been through this school. I can't believe it. The kids are all so upset."
Maureen Watson, a village resident for 63 years, has also seen generations of her family attend the school. She said: "We knew it was going to be knocked down but we would all have rather seen it taken down brick by brick than like this."
Anne Wood, a resident for 57 years, has also had three generations of her family through the school. She said: "This is a very sad end to a well-used and brilliant school. When this school goes, the village goes with it."
Throughout the morning, parents and children gathered outside to survey the damage.
Pupils spoke of their initial worries on hearing the news, saying they were scared in case teachers had been trapped in the school.
Then they just stood around and absorbed the significance the fire was likely to have on their school lives.
Some said they were worried about where they would take their Sats tests in May. Others feared they would now be shipped off to other schools while the £3m Church of England replacement school, due to open on the same site next September, was being built.
Debbie Goodchild, who has two children at the school, said: "Most of the children cried when they heard about the fire.
"It's so very sad. They had just had a fantastic activity week in the week before half-term and had made Chinese dragons and lots of pictures."
A council spokesman said yesterday afternoon they would write to parents advising them of arrangements for Monday morning
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