MYSTERY still surrounds the cause of a blaze that destroyed the kitchen at a primary school.

Flames spread through the kitchen at Nightingale Primary School, Eastleigh, early yesterday, causing windows to shatter, cookers to break and part of the ceiling to collapse.

Fire crews from Eastleigh, Redbridge and St Mary's were called out at 4am, spending more than an hour at the scene.

The fire spread quickly as polystyrene storage boxes dotted around the kitchen caught alight.

Fire investigators will return to the Blackbird Road school today to establish whether arsonists or an electrical fault caused the blaze.

David Askew, spokesman for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: "We still don't know whether it was an accidental fire or started deliberately.

"It is most unusual for an arson attack to start in a kitchen where there is mainly metal equipment."

The blaze meant that 150 older children had to take the day off school, though younger pupils were able to attend classes.

Preparations were being made for youngsters aged eight to 11 years whose lessons take place in the kitchen block to be moved to spare classrooms in another school building.

Head teacher Simon Cooper-Hind said he hoped all the school's 290 pupils would be back for lessons as normal tomorrow.

Mr Cooper-Hind added: "When I saw the damage my main concern was whether I would be able to open up the school.

"We are sorting it out as quickly as possible and industrial cleaners are going to be coming in."

He said he was relieved the fire had not spread to the school's gym next door or ruined any of the children's colourful wall displays.

Mr Cooper-Hind, who has been in charge at the school for the past three years, said Hampshire Caterers, which cooked school dinners, had arranged for a mobile kitchen to be installed in the school's second hall.

He said: "Children will still be able to have school lunches and we hope that we are back to normal tomorrow with all the pupils coming into school."