TOTTINGTON High School is set to reopen tomorrow after a fire broke out this morning.

Staff and pupils were evacuated after a blaze started in the school's library.

Fire crews said the incident had caused significant damage to the electrics, air conditioning system and computer equipment.

However, the school has now issued a statement to parents saying it well reopen "as usual" on Tuesday, although the library and a computer suite will remain closed.

In the statement issued this afternoon, headteacher Brian Duffy said: "The school will be open as usual tomorrow Tuesday 26th March. Damage from the fire today has been limited to a small room which holds some electrical boards.

"It serves only two rooms which will be out of action tomorrow, the library and room 20 which is an IT suite. The rest of the school is functioning as normal."

Firefighters were called to the school in Laurel Street shortly after 8.35am.

The blaze is understood to have started after an electrical consumer unit caught fire in a room next to the school library.

No one was hurt and firefighters had put out the fire by late morning.

A number of pupils were in the library at the time, but they were safely evacuated.

Others arriving at school were sent home for the rest of the day.

Mr Duffy said: "Our librarian alerted us to the fire and we raised the alarm. The children were excellent in how they conducted themselves.

"There has not been any damage to the library, it is just the electrics, which have been turned off until further assessment."

Steve Wilcock, watch manager at Bury Fire Station, said the fire had caused "extensive damage" to the electrical consumer unit, as well as wiring, an air conditioning system and computers servers, all of which were stored in the room.

He added: “It is only a small room about the size of a bathroom, but it was quite an intense fire.

"The amount of fire and location made it very difficult to put out."

He added that had firefighters not arrived at the scene so quickly then the fire would likely have spread to other parts of the school.

“A fire in a school has a really significant impact on the local community so we are glad we got up there in time," said Mr Wilcock.

“The damage in that room is really severe.

“The smoke was coming out and into the library. There is a coating of soot on everything in there, including the computers, so it is going to need a big clean up operation."

Three fire engines remained at the school until shortly before 11am and were parked on the school's playground.

To help firefighters tackle the blaze, the school's power was turned off until this afternoon.