Head speaks of 'shock' after devastating fire at Scarborough school

Mrs Logan, who served as headteacher at the school for a decade, was spending the half term break in America with her family when she heard the news.

She said: “I’m still in shock. I was on holiday in Salt Lake City when I found out. The staff were posting in the WhatsApp group saying “Have you seen how dreadful this is?”

“The videos were awful to watch, just devastating.

“It made me cry. I know that’s silly, but I was in distress.

“It was my first headship and I did 10 years there. I've got staff who worked there for 20 years, staff who started their careers there, children who finished their primary education there and parent helpers.

“We built it up to be a good school, I feel properly choked.

“When we left in the middle of August we emptied the building completely.

“It had been properly cleaned. I was part of that process, we even took the signs off the walls.

“I’ve seen the drone footage and the damage is substantial. The main destruction is in the hall which is a big part of the central building.

“You can see three places where the fire has started. I don’t even know how they could.

“The building was fine. It was going to be used for community use. That would have been wonderful, to centre support on Eastfield.

“No one was hurt, that’s the biggest relief, but it’s just all so unnecessary.

“After half term there were kids coming up to me saying “Oh miss. Did you hear?” and I’m trying to be positive and saying “We have the new school.”

“There’s an emotional link with Eastfield families. We’ve had lots of messages saying wasn’t it sad.

“It’s almost like grieving. If your grandma was a dinner lady and your mum went there and now you go there, it’s been a part of your whole life.

“The important thing is all children and families are safe. The old building did provide a lot but the new school will carry on.

“We have a beautiful new building and I’m very grateful for that.”