today.

Flames destroyed much of the school's central building late on Friday night.

The intense heat burned through the roof and floor of the second story building and has forced the temporary relocation of the entire student body to the nearby Whitney Institute.

Last night Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott told The Royal Gazette meetings had been held with technical officers, insurance representatives, and architects to assess the extent of the damage.

Although the main building suffered the brunt of the flames, inspectors had to determine how badly smoke and heat had damaged the wings of the school, said Mr. Scott.

A report outlining the findings is expected to be presented to Cabinet to day.

After that, Mr. Scott said it would be up to either himself or Jennifer Smith as Minister of Education to choose the best course of action for the school.

Meanwhile, roughly 180 of Harrington Sound's 260 students crammed into Whitney's hall yesterday. Substitute teachers were called in as the regular staff were required in meetings to discuss the fire.

Vivlyn Cooper, senior education officer for schools, said substitute teachers emphasised a day of fun for the students to help them through the disruption.

"Being together as a school is good for them,'' she said. "They have a wonderful way of supporting each other.'' Mrs. Cooper pointed out that despite the makeshift accommodations, student safety was the primary concern.

And retired teacher Rosemary Phillips, who has been called in to serve as acting supervisor while the students are at Whitney, said the first day was a success.

A team of 16 certified substitute teachers worked with the students in a day of drama, physical education activities, art, and field trips to the Bermuda Aquarium.

Cabinet to discuss Harrington Sound Mrs. Phillips has had some experience in handling school crises. Last year she helped teachers deal with the delayed opening of the Dellwood Middle School and supervised lessons in the Salvation Army Citadel.

But she admitted Whitney's limited space and lack of separate classrooms made her more recent task more challenging.

Despite the close quarters, Mrs. Phillips said teachers kept the Whitney and Harrington Sound students separated throughout the day.

And she said the children were all coping well with the sudden move.

"We had an assembly in the morning. The children were very excited. It was a very upbeat assembly,'' she said. "They were allowed to scream and have fun.'' Even the counsellors who were on hand to deal with any such situations did not stay throughout the day because they "didn't see a need for their services'', she said.

And Mrs. Phillips added the only disruption of the day occurred when Premier Jennifer Smith visited the children.

"That caused a wee bit of a disruption,'' she said. "They ran to her for hugs. They were queuing up for hugs.'' Mrs. Phillips said the teachers today planned to return to quieter, skill-based activities.