Children at an Oxford school gutted in an arson attack last week returned to class yesterday morning.

Bayards Hill Primary School in Barton suffered thousands of pounds worth of damage in Thursday's blaze Two classrooms on the first floor of the school in Waynflete Road were gutted in the blaze and two other classrooms were damaged.

Police have linked the incident to another arson attack the same night at a sports pavilion in Margaret Road, Headington.

The school was closed on Friday, but has now reopened to all 320 pupils, aged three to 11.

Teachers have converted undamaged parts of the school, including the library, into makeshift classrooms so lessons can continue.

Four rooms used as a store for the county's music service were waterlogged and the service will be unable to use its hall until the fire alarms are repaired.

Headteacher Keith Ponsford said the support of parents, the emergency services and the local authority since the incident had helped staff and children cope during the upheaval.

He said: "All the children are back in school now. We've converted areas like the school library into classrooms so we can get everyone in.

"It means that we haven't got any spare space and it's a bit of a squeeze, but everyone's holding up well.

"Sadly, two classes were gutted and the other two adjoining were smoke damaged. There's a pretty strong smell. But everyone's pulling together and we're just trying to carry on as normal.

"We've had great support from parents who have been phoning up to ask if they can help.

"The local authority has done a lot of work, taking things off our hands, and we're grateful for that."

The police investigation is continuing.