Rogerstone Primary was wrecked by fire in last year's Easter break

Education and fire officials will meet in Swansea later to examine how to prevent the school blazes which caused up to �2m damage last year.

The organiser of the "Save Our Schools" conference, Firebrake Wales, says there is an arson "epidemic".

It says most school arson is on the spur of the moment and through boredom, although a number are grudge attacks.

The chaos which follows school fires can disrupt the lives of children, staff and parents for years, as Rogerstone Primary in Newport, south Wales, knows well.

The children's work you can't possibly replace and that's what they find most difficult to cope with Primary head Marilyn Garnon

The school was destroyed last April, and their new building may not be ready until the end of next year.

"It was very upsetting," said Lynne Murphy, who has taught at Rogerstone since 1977, a year after it opened.

"It was during the Easter holidays. We have community use of the school and there was an evening class taking place when they were alerted by the sounds and smoke.

Marilyn Garnon of Llwyncrwn Primary says the fire was a nightmare

"All the children living nearby and their parents headed towards the smoke, and they were standing outside seeing their school work going up in flames.

"In one cloakroom everything had burnt except one glove and they couldn't understand why.

Fire facts Over 1,000 school arson attacks in Britain last year cost �100m In the UK, the number of fires started deliberately is 56% In the South Wales Fire Service area, arson accounts for 86% of all fires In the old county of Gwent, nine of ten fires are arson Children aged seven - 17 are to blame for a large majority of school arson A quarter of school fires are begun by children under seven

"The only thing that survived was the admin area - the head's office and secretary's office, although they were smoke damaged, so we were able to save a lot of records."

The school's 370 pupils have since been split, with the infants in temporary classrooms near the site, while the older ones have to travel more than three miles daily to a stand-in school in Malpas.

"We are very much a family school," said Mrs Murphy. "Everyone mixes together and it's prevented that a lot."

'Devastating'

Acting head teacher Liz Miles said: "Obviously it's not convenient. We are out of the Rogerstone community, but our parents have been really supportive."

Another school damaged by fire was Llwyncrwn Primary in Beddau, Rhondda Cynon Taf, whose head, Marilyn Garnon, described the 1997 blaze as a nightmare.

"It was quite devastating," said Mrs Garnon. "You lose everything.

"You can't imagine how many resources you have in a classroom that just disappear overnight.

Llwyncrwn Primary's new building has risen from the ashes

"Small things like tables and chairs are easy to replace, but the children's work you can't possibly replace and that's what they find most difficult to cope with."

The damaged block has since been rebuilt, and its staff were consulted on the design. The fire was begun in a recessed doorway, and Mrs Garnon specified that there should be none in the new building.

Friday's conference, at the Swansea Marriott, will hear from experts on fire prevention how to cut risks. It will also include a presentation by the handler of the South Wales Fire Service's "sniffer" dog Sam, who searches fire sites for causes, such as petrol.

Fire officers in Gwent say nine out of ten blazes in the area are begun deliberately. Firebrake Wales say the figures "highlight the extent of the arson epidemic currently sweeping the country."

Anthony Feasey of Firebrake Wales said ideally every school would have a sprinkler system. The cost of installation in a new school is about four per cent of the budget, or about the same as carpeting, says Mr Feasey.

"Most of the arson is opportunistic and from boredom," said Mr Feasey.

"There are a number of grudge attacks, but what it really is a scale of social misbehaviour that leads to a minor fire and unfortunately a major fire."