Village 'came together' for school after huge fire

When a fire ripped through a Shropshire school one year ago, it left staff scrambling to work out how hundreds of pupils would continue their education.

Rebuilding work is still happening at St Martin's School, near Oswestry, and head teacher Alison Pope said the fire was one of the biggest challenges in its history.

In the days after the fire, school leaders based themselves at the village community centre as they worked out how to reopen the school and switch pupils to online learning.

Twelve months on, to mark the anniversary, a new mural has been installed in reception to celebrate the school's recovery and Pope said she saw it as a chance for a fresh start.

The school suffered extensive damage during the fire on 21 September 2025.

It destroyed the school's hall and left parts of its dining facilities, music department and other areas inaccessible.

Pope said: "We're still without our main diner, which has two to three rooms to it, without our hall which we haven't had for assemblies [and] whole-school events."

Parents, businesses, volunteers and emergency services all helped support the school during the disruption.

"The village, the community and the parents and carers were incredibly supportive," the head teacher said.

"They gave us somewhere to be because we didn't have anywhere to meet as a leadership team to decide what to do with school, how to reopen it and what to put on for online learning."

The anniversary mural features hot air balloons, phoenix wings and artwork contributed by pupils and staff.

Pope said: "That really is about the rebirth of the school after everything that happened last year."

The mural was created by Sarah Parkinson, a local author and illustrator who is also a parent with a child at the school.

She said seeing the fire had been "quite frightening" and she remembered "plumes of smoke going across the village".

Once it became clear the school would be closed for some time, leaders created alternative plans to teach the children.

Parkinson said: "Whether you had kids or not, everybody was helping each other."

She described the mural as a "love letter to St Martin's" which showed the "fighter spirit" of the village.

It was created in just eight days and she said it contained lots of hidden "Easter eggs" such as the hanging baskets at the local Stan's superstore.

Sebastian, a pupil at the school, remembers jumping on his bike and riding there when he heard about the fire.

Recalling the "black smoke coming from the hall" and the fire engines parked outside, he said: "It was quite unnerving and I felt quite shocked to see that.

"Something that I've only actually seen in films happening in real life and to my school."

Another pupil, Seren, remembered children finding ways to stay in touch with each other while the school was closed, so they did not feel alone.

She said: "It's still slightly strange, but we're moving towards, like, a more together school.

"And because of the fire, it's just brought us closer together."

Pope hopes the hall and dining area will open in January and it will mean a fresh start.

She said: "We'll have a state of the art hall with new sound system, lighting, seating that can help us retract the seating back.

"We can have an even bigger space for school productions, drama workshops, all sorts of things and opportunities for the pupils in and around the different corridors as well."

The school has taken the opportunity for a redevelopment.

Pope added it would feel like a brand new school, with new ideas and lots of exciting opportunities.

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