TEACHING is to start again at Middleton St George Primary School, which was severely damaged by fire in February.

Four temporary classrooms and a dining room have been put in place, after two rooms and the roof of the old Victorian school building were destroyed by in an alleged arson attack. Lessons will begin on Monday, April 28, and parts of the old school building that were not badly damaged will reopen too.

Since the fire, the school's 250 pupils and teachers have been using the former Firthmoor Primary School in Darlington.

Middleton St George deputy head teacher Janine Gleeson said: "We are delighted to be able to move back into the school. The temporary rooms have been decorated and carpeted, and are ready for us to use. The local education authority has been great and we wouldn't have been able to do it without its help."

Darlington Council, which runs the school, has applied for retrospective planning permission for the temporary buildings, which are available for two years pending the building of a new £3m school.

The new school will serve Middleton St George and Sadberge, and include a nursery.

* Two teenagers appeared in court recently charged with setting fire to the school. The 14-year-olds, who cannot be named, were accompanied by their parents when they appeared before South Durham Youth Court, in Darlington, to face an arson charge.

The pair were jointly accused of destroying the school on February 26, to the value of £356,000. Magistrates committed the case to Teesside Crown Court. The case was adjourned until May 9, for committal proceedings at Darlington Magistrates' Court.