PUPILS at a school in Newport will not be able to return to lessons until Monday at the earliest after fire gutted its staff room and filled the building with smoke.

Firefighters were called to a ground floor fire at St Andrew’s Junior School in Corporation Road, Lliswerry, Newport, at 10.05pm on Tuesday.

A total of 37 firefighters tackled the blaze – believed byNewport council to be caused by an electrical fault – bringing it under control by 11.12pm.

Chairman of governors and Lliswerry councillor Roger Jeavons said it was understood the redbrick school, which is more than 100 years old and has 230 pupils, had not suffered structural damage, but it would remain closed until at least Monday.

Yesterday teachers were in tears when they learned about the fire, which wrecked the staff room so badly Cllr Jeavons said it would cost thousands to repair.

The fire also caused severe smoke damage to the ground floor of the building, leaving displays of pupils’ work covered in black dust. Head teacher Vaughan Thomas, whose teachers were not due to strike today, said: “When I got here I was dismayed and saddened about the impact it would have on the pupils, the staff and the community.”

Mums commended the school for continuing to run a school trip yesterday and have offered to clean. Donna Ro-berts, 41, whose eight-year-old Leyla is a pupil at the school, said: “They know all they need to do is let us know and I am sure quite a few of us would put on a pinny.”

Cllr Jeavons said governors and staff would like to thank the community for offers of assistance.

He said the school was being advised by Newport council’s health and safety team.

He said: “If this hadn’t been such a beautiful, elderly building, perhaps a new school on a single story, we may have been looking at a complete rebuild.”

An assessment of the damage and safety of the building is taking place, with work to repair the electrical system and rectify the smoke damage to follow, Newport council said yesterday.