THORNDEN School was slowly getting back to business today - just a week after a disastrous fire swept through the huge Chandler's Ford campus.

A car park was being transformed into a mini classroom complex as contractors winched ten temporary double rooms into position.

About 260 pupils from Year 11 - about a fifth of the school - returned to their desks to catch up with vital GCSE work.

Before classes started, head teacher Dr Robert Sykes gave pupils a conducted tour of the fire-damaged building.

He told the Daily Echo that morale was high and there had been a "splendid" response from pupils.

He said: "This is a good and successful school and we are not going to be undermined by a fire."

He said the county architect's department had done a brilliant job in restoring services following the £1m plus blaze.

Dr Sykes said it was a compressed day where normal lessons were being shortened and pupils would leave by 1pm. The reason for the move was that there were no social areas available or canteen facilities.

Year 10 would be returning tomorrow at 8.30am and needed to report to the gym. Year 7,8 and 9 were due to go back to school next Monday.

Sixteen-year-old Kate Cunningham said she was pleased to be back at school: "We have to catch up because we have lost a week. I don't think I have lost any coursework but I have some close friends who have."

Kirsty MacLean said: "It is a different atmosphere. I can't use the science classrooms."

Kathryn Hopkins, aged 15, said: "It's weird because we are having to follow a different routine. It's a tight deadline and so we have to catch up."

Smoke-damaged snowmen, part of the school's Christmas decorations, were among the sad remnants from the fire.

l Two Chandler's Ford teenagers appeared at Southampton Magistrates' Court charged with damaging the school.