A FIRE which ravaged a Johnstone secondary school in 2003 was described as “suspicious.”

UNIQUE work by pupils suffered water damage in the blaze which destroyed the technical department at St Cuthbert’s High, in Spateston.

The fire happened just weeks before the SQA exam season but, fortunately, all coursework for the forthcoming technical exams had already been assessed.

Headteacher Tom Higgins said: “Fortunately, none of the objects appear to have been burnt because I think the fire brigade were quickly on the scene and managed to minimise the damage.”

The fire started at 5am and destroyed a technical store and two metal work areas, with four other classrooms and a corridor suffering smoke damage at an estimated cost of £20,000-£30,000.

Firefighters contained the blaze just before it reached the 20 computers kept at the far end of the department.

A neighbour who called the fire brigade said: “It was quite a shock to see, as there were lots of flames, but the fire brigade were great and had it under control in about 10 minutes.

“It’s a terrible thing to happen, especially at this time as a lot of pupils are already anxious about their exams.”

Four fire pumps and a high-reach appliance tackled the blaze, with extra crews coming from Govan, Paisley and Cowcaddens.

The fire left a gaping hole in one classroom wall and the floor was littered with twisted plastic and charred wood. Cleaning squads moved into the school to clean up the area. A number of classes had to be re-timetabled.

A spokesperson for Strathclyde Police said they were treating the blaze as wilful fire-raising.