THE devastating fire that engulfed Woodmill High School last summer has already cost more than £800,000.

Insurers will pay out for a large proportion of the hefty bill but a policy excess of £250,000 is required from Fife Council.

Demolition work, providing transport for alternative accommodation, staff costs, building new classrooms, as well as replacing everything that was lost between September and December came to approximately £830,000.

And, costs are expected to spiral even more to more than £1million in the months to come.

Security costs alone have reached nearly £60,000, with money being spent on CCTV.

Fortunately, in recognition of a cash-strapped local authority, insurers have made an interim payment of £750,000 and further payments will be made as work progresses and outlays are incurred.

Costs of the fire were given after a Freedom of Information request.

A 14-year-old boy appeared in court in connection with the incident, which happened on August 25 last year.

The council worked hard to find alternative accommodation for 1,400 Woodmill pupils in the aftermath of the blaze.

Younger students remain at Queen Anne High and the Vine Centre but S3 to S5 pupils returned to the Shields Road site after the Christmas holidays.

Parts of the building have been refurbished but temporary classrooms have been built to accommodate pupils.

Work is currently under way to install 18 temporary, two-storey classrooms so that more pupils can get back to Woodmill by April.

A further 14 classrooms are planned for June and accommodation so that the Department of Additional Support Unit can rejoin the rest of the school is expected to be completed by August.

There are currently piles of mud that have been left at the far east side of the playing fields.

The council says 4,000 tonnes of soil have been dug up in the process of preparing for construction and that it will be removed when the work is finished.

A statement from the council in response to the Freedom of Information request said: "Woodmill High School is a complex loss involving a considerable amount of work in terms of reinstating the building and interim recovery arrangements.

"Because of the scale of the work involved in the school’s recovery and reinstatement, a phased approach has been undertaken and the insurance claim is being dealt with on that basis."

Meanwhile, a planning application has been submitted for the next phase of work at Woodmill.

The new two-storey-high blocks will be placed in a similar area to the east wing that had to be demolished as a result of the fire.

It is proposed that construction access will be from Dunn Crescent to minimise disruption on the busier Shields Road.