Dunfermline school fire: Pupil fears exam art work destroyed

Olivia Barron said she was very worried her final piece for her advanced higher was smoke damaged

A pupil at a Fife school hit by a devastating fire has told how she fears her exam art work might have been destroyed in the blaze.

Olivia Barron, 17 spent seven weeks over her summer holiday completing the painting of an octopus.

She is now worried her final piece for her advanced higher art exam may have been smoke damaged in the Woodmill High School fire on Sunday.

A 14-year-old has been charged with wilful fire-raising to danger of life.

The Kirkcaldy teenager, who cannot be named, made no plea and was bailed on Tuesday at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.

Fife Council said 1,400 pupils had been displaced and that every part of the school was damaged in the fire.

A sea slug that Olivia painted for her Higher portfolio

Olivia, who is in her final year at the school, passed four Highers including an A in art last year and has been working on her advanced higher in a bid to go to university to study fashion and design.

She said: "I think its absolutely devastating what has happened.

"I think it's impact is terrible and how it's affected not just myself but everyone else.

"My art work is in the building and I'm really worried that it's been smoke-damaged.

"I spent all summer working on one piece of octopus tentacles and when the teacher saw it she loved it and said the detail was fantastic and said she could tell I had spent a lot of time on it.

"I'm really worried now what has happened to it as I can't find out because they won't let anyone in and not even my art teacher."

A porcelain bracelet that Olivia made for her Higher portfolio

More than 80 firefighters worked through the night to extinguish the school blaze, after the alarm was raised on Sunday evening.

Some fire service staff travelled from across the country to help bring the "protracted and challenging" incident to a safe conclusion.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service remained on the scene for almost 48 hours before handing full control of the building back to Fife Council on Tuesday.

The school will be closed in the "short to medium term" due to a lack of classrooms, but that means weeks rather than months, according to the council.