Peebles High School fire: Face-to-face teaching plans take shape

Pictures from inside the building show the extent of the damage

More than 1,000 pupils in the Borders should return to "face-to-face" teaching within days after their school was hit by a "devastating" fire.

Peebles High School will be shut until at least Christmas after a blaze broke out on the site on Thursday.

Plans for home learning have been put in place this week but work is ongoing to find alternative classroom space.

The announcement came as Scottish Borders Council released pictures from inside the fire-ravaged building.

The blaze broke out on Thursday

The council said it expected to have found accommodation for all 1,300 pupils by Monday.

Senior students (S4 to S6) will be taught by Peebles High School teachers but will have to travel to Galashiels - about 20 miles away.

The school will remain shut until at least Christmas

Most senior pupils will be taught by Peebles High staff but at Galashiels Academy

They will mainly be accommodated in an extension to the town's Academy.

The council is still finalising plans for S1 to S3 children but said it would confirm them "as soon as possible".

Convener David Parker said that without the "magnificent efforts" of firefighters the situation could have been much worse.

However, the secondary will still remain shut until at least the new year.

A range of online learning options are being offered until accommodation is found for classroom-based teaching.

The council has thanked parents and carers for their "understanding and co-operation" in dealing with the "challenging incident".