A fire has caused severe damage at a West Midlands secondary school.

A severe fire occurred at Light Hall School in Shirley, Solihull, at 14;50 hours on the afternoon of Sunday 26 th February 2006.

The fire destroyed a single storey canteen unit and a two storey classroom block at the school which was built to CLASP design. Fire investigation teams are working to ascertain the exact cause of the fire.

In addition to teaching and canteen facilities, irreplaceable GCSE coursework was lost in the fire, resulting in the temporary closure of the school, which is not fitted with fire sprinklers.

Up to 75 fire-fighters and 15 engines were involved in tackling the blaze. Their efforts were hampered by the severe shortage of water supplies in the area and water had to be pumped from some distance away, despite the water authority boosting supply pressures at the request of the Fire Service.

Had a sprinkler system been fitted, the fire could have been controlled in its early stages, through the use of a static water supply on site, with the likelihood of minimal damage occurring.

There is currently no estimate of the financial impact of the fire.