Fire causes £30,000 worth of damage at school

Stratton Upper School in Biggleswade was closed at lunchtime after the blaze in an H Block classroom.

Fire crews from Biggleswade and Potton were called to the school after the fire was discovered at around 11.15am.

Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus battled the fire using one hose reel.

It was brought under control by around 11.45am, but students and teachers were evacuated and were later allowed to go home early.

Students stayed in the academy’s sports hall and main hall while firefighters fought the blaze.

Headteacher Rob Watson paid tribute to his quick-thinking staff and the whole academy for a quick and impressive response.

He said: “We have a full emergency procedure here which we thankfully rarely have to use, but on Friday it was followed to the letter.

“Two members of staff who discovered the fire tried to put it out but found quite quickly that this was not going to be possible so they quickly alerted the fire brigade.”

He added: “The fire was discovered at break time which meant that we could evacuate everyone quickly and efficiently, and I would like to thank staff and students for their impeccable following of the procedure.

“We closed the school at lunchtime but we will be opening as normal on Monday.

“There will of course be a full investigation by ourselves and the fire service, but at least one of the classrooms will be unavailable for a while and may cost in the region of £25,000 to £30,000 to restore.”

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