Liberton Primary School may have to be rebuilt from scratch

A NEW Liberton Primary School should be built from scratch in the wake of Wednesday’s devastating fire, an MSP has suggested.

Labour member for Edinburgh Southern, Daniel Johnson, floated the idea as police work to establish the cause of the blaze.

Mr Johnson wrote to education secretary John Swinney as the massive clean-up operation at Liberton got underway.

“It is now looking likely that we will need a new Liberton Primary School as well as a new Liberton High School,” wrote Mr Johnson.

Inquiries are ongoing to establish whether or not there was criminality in the cause of the fire, a spokesperson for Police Scotland said.

All pupils and staff were evacuated and there were no injuries reported.

The school has been closed and Edinburgh City Council will update parents next week on arrangements for pupils after the end of half term on February 17.

Structural engineers went on site to access the damage on Thursday and news of whether or not the building will have to be demolished is expected today.

Liberton Primary School fire: 'large part of school' destroyed

Figures across the Council are looking into contingency plans for the 468 Primary and 41 Nursery pupils.

Fire crews were called at 3.30pm on Wednesday and up to 50 firefighters battled the blaze into the early hours of the morning.

The fire service remained at the scene on Thursday morning to ensure no ‘hotspots’ caused the blaze to reignite.

It is thought that the fire broke out in a ground floor classroom, and later spread to the roof.

Police Scotland issued a statement advising local residents to keep their doors and windows closed due to the smoke.

The roof remains intact but a large part of the school is believed to have been damaged and there are serious concerns for the building’s future.

The school did not have a sprinkler system.

Council leader Adam McVey thanked the emergency services for doing an ‘absolutely outstanding job’ tackling the fire.

He added: “We are going to get access to the building today that will give us a better understanding of the damage.”