Halifax school fire: How Halifax's Ash Green Primary School is recovering after 'catastrophic' blaze

Mungo Sheppard says the impact of the blaze has been huge, with the experience proving traumatic for children, staff and parents.

Although temporary buildings were quickly put in place, the rebuild of the classrooms which were destroyed is not set to be completed for another two years.

"The effect has been huge,” he said. “It’s been catastrophic.

"It was the worst of times. We had staff and children who were incredibly upset.

"We had children who were frightened to come back to school. There were huge emotional hurdles for them to overcome to get back to learning.”

The fire caused a huge amount of damage to the school’s upper site on Clough Lane eight months ago.

At the its height, there were ten fire crews tackling the blaze.

Four year groups - all of Key Stage 2 - were left without classrooms.

Mr Sheppard was keen from the outset that, despite offers from other schools to take children in, the Mixenden school’s students should be educated in their area.

The most vulnerable children were taught temporarily on the school’s lower site, and the rest were provided with online learning and resources so they could access remote learning.

Amazingly – thanks to a massive clean-up operation, the arrival of temporary classrooms, lots of help and plenty of determination – all the youngsters were able to return to their classrooms and sit alongside each other again just a month after the fire.

Offers of trips and experiences have also been helping the school’s recovery, with youngsters enjoying trips to Blackpool and London.

Mr Sheppard said the support shown to the school has been a huge boost and a big part in helping them pull through the crisis.

"There has been a lot of uplifting spirit from the community,” he said.

"In other areas, a community would have been floored but here, everyone has pulled together.

"Everything that can be done to help, has been done.

“It’s been amazing.”