FACILITIES wrecked by water at an Oxford school have been repaired to a 'fantastic' standard.

Pupils at East Oxford Primary School have returned for the new term to a transformed main hall, more than a year after it was damaged by a deluge of water.

A pipe burst on the school's first floor during the summer holidays in 2016, sending a stream gushing into the hall, corridor, toilets and front office.

Headteacher Russell Kaye said: "It cascaded through the floor – in the hall the water was probably about six inches deep.

"The floor was ruined and the damp remained in the walls; we had drying equipment in there trying to get it out.

"There was a lot of water damage and it's taken the buildings a long time to dry out. It was in a very sorry state and we had to have plywood flooring put down."

Over the summer holidays this year contractors worked hard ripping up the temporary flooring and laying permanent timber boards in the hall and other affected areas, as well as renovating the staff room kitchen and redecorating.

Mr Kaye, who welcomed pupils for their first day back yesterday, said: "It looks amazing. They've done a fantastic job."

He said the burst happened overnight during water works, as the old lead pipes could not cope with the water pressure.

It also destroyed £10,000 worth of books in a storage room, but Mr Kaye said the school was insured to replace the sodden resources, as well as have the repair works done.

The works were carried out over several weeks by EG Carter & Co Ltd.

Its contracts manager Dermot Nolan said: "It was a privilege to be a part of this project. Within days of being instructed we had teams on site rectifying the damage.

"It has been a challenging process with work having to be carefully co-ordinated during school holidays due the intrusive nature of some of the work.

"But, with the help of a fantastic team, we managed to get all areas completed and handed over in time for the start of the new academic year.’"

Contractors at the same company had already revamped a corridor and staircase during the Easter holidays.

The school in Union Street, which had 295 pupils on its roll during its last Ofsted inspection in 2015, is also used as the venue for East Oxford Farmers' and Community Market.

During the works the weekly Saturday market had to move all its stalls outside, but this weekend it is expected to return to its usual part-indoor part-outdoor set-up.