A SUSPECTED arson attack at a Southampton school will not harm pupils learning, its defiant head teacher vowed.

Police are investigating the blaze at Redbridge Community School, which destroyed two rooms in the old maths block and caused severe heat and smoke damage elsewhere.

But the building was due to be demolished in June this year anyway, says head teacher Richard Schofield.

He will proudly unveil a brand new school to his pupils on Tuesday. The £10.6m new school, on a site adjacent to the present Cuckmere Lane site, was untouched by the flames.

The fire ripped through a virtually empty building. All the books and other teaching equipment had been moved away.

More than 40 firefighters battled the blaze after nearby residents spotted smoke coming from the school after 10pm on Monday.

Mr Schofield said: "This disappoints me greatly that people should go in and set fire to the school. Obviously I am shocked to hear the news, but I am relieved no one has been hurt or injured."

He was confident the blaze would not affect the big opening next week He said: "I am obviously relieved that no damage has been done to the new school. The damage to the old school should not interfere in any way with the operation of the new one. We had already transferred books and other equipment to the new site, so this will in no way affect things. Parents will be concerned but because everything had been transferred it will not affect their children's learning."

Southampton's executive director of life-

long learning and leisure Ian Sandbrook agreed.

He said: "We are currently assessing the damage. We do not envisage any delays in opening the new school for the start of the summer term."

The new state-of-the-art school, which has more than 700 pupils and was built under the government's controversial private finance initiative, is one of three such secondary schools in the city which are part of a £36m programme. The new Woodlands School and Cantell School are due to open their doors to pupils in September.