THE headteacher of fire-ravaged Selsey Academy said there was “nothing in the training manual” on how to cope with such a tragedy.

Tom Garfield said seeing his school go up in flames was “heartbreaking” but a strong spirit would see the community through the difficult times ahead.

Mr Garfield has been a teacher at the school for ten years but only took on the role of headteacher in January.

The blaze which damaged around three quarters of buildings at the school is the biggest blaze in the county for five years.

Initial investigations have concluded it is likely to have been started accidentally by contractors working on the school’s roof.

A disaster fund to pay towards improved facilities in the future at the school has already raised hundreds of pounds.

GCSE pupils set to collect their results today [Thursday] have been forced to go to nearby Seal Primary instead.

A decision on how the school’s 500 pupils will be relocated is expected this week.

Mr Garfield said: “I was contacted immediately and I was on the site at about 8.30am and by that time it was clear that this was serious.

“It was quite heartbreaking to see.

“From a personal point of view it was very difficult to watch, it was difficult to deal with that.

“It is difficult to look at the building now and picking out items that look like stuff like chairs and desks.

“There’s nothing in the training manual for something like this, there are no set protocols for this.”

With the majority of the school razed to the ground, uncertainty still surrounds how The Kemnal Academies Trust will find school places for pupils in the upcoming academic year.

It is expected pupils will be found space amongst the trust’s 15 other secondary academies.

Mr Garfield said the strength of community spirit would help pull the school through.

He said: “I’m very fortunate to work with very skilled staff and to receive support from Kemnal staff so that the school is in a good place to move forward.

“It is very important to remember what makes a school is not a building, it is a group of people and it is a community spirit.

“There is a history concerning the school, a lot of people in the area went to that school and when having spoken to people in the village, they are finding it difficult to deal with losing that.

“But I think that whatever the future, retaining the sense of community and the sense of togetherness that we have is going to be absolutely critical.

“I’m very, very confident in the staff and the community spirit within the school walls and out in the wider community will always be there.”

To support the fund visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/katrina-hamer-2?utm_id=66&utm_term=6KNWX5zDk.