THE headmaster of Powerstock School, which was partially destroyed in a blaze last week, has said the school will reopen next week.

In the aftermath of the devastating fire that destroyed part of the school last week the community has rallied around to offer support.

A blaze, believed to have been started by an electrical fault, saw the Victorian part of the school destroyed and children have not been able to return after their half-term break.

But headteacher Jean-Paul Draper said yesterday that pupils should prepare for a return to school on Monday, November 7.

There will also be a church service on Friday for parents and the community followed by tea and cakes in Powerstock Hut.

This will be a chance for parents to look around the school before the children return, he added.

Powerstock Hut will also be used as a temporary Key Stage One classroom. Mr Draper said: “I have also had fantastic support from all the Bridport headteachers with offers of resources.

“They have been emailed a long list of things we need to get up and going and I have someone with a big van going around collecting the stuff.

“It has been amazing, it has brought lots of people together.

“We have had some fantastic letters, one from an 80-year-old lady in Cornwall who came here during the war. She donated £50 for the rebuilding fund.”

Parent school association member Jena Hatton said there would be the first of many fundraising activities with a bric-a-brac stall from 9am to 1pm this Saturday in Bucky Doo Square.

She said: “It has very much brought the community together.

“A group of parents met for hallowe’en and we said we are just going to have to get on with it.

“That’s what the school always seems to do and they are very good at that.

“I am sure that we will make the best of the situation and look at it as having a fantastic opportunity.

“It was devastating but we can look at it as an opportunity.”

Former chairman of governors Chris Bunney is back on board as an associate governor to deal with health and safety aspects.

He said: “It’s been amazing. It is not just Powerstock that has rallied around but the wider community as well.”

There is also a church service on Sunday at St Mary the Virgin at 9.15am and there will be a book of memories for people to write in.