A HOUSEBUILDER is helping a Stirling school after a devastating fire.

Persimmon Homes East Scotland has given East Plean Primary School and Nursery a £1,000 donation as part of its Community Champions scheme to help refurnish and restock its library.

The school building was so badly damaged in November 2010 it had to be demolished with much of the equipment and playground also destroyed – at an estimated cost of £5million.

Ruth Donnelly, headteacher at at the school, said: “This donation from Persimmon Homes will be a great help for the school, allowing us to improve our library.

“We want it to be exciting for pupils and to encourage a love of reading.

“Our recent Christmas fair raised £1,180 and we will use this to begin the project. Persimmon’s generous donation means we’ll be able to purchase furniture and books.

“We are also planning an adult book group in school with parents and carers and this donation is sure to help get that off the ground too.”

Jim Kirkpatrick, managing director at the builders, said: “We were saddened to hear about East Plean’s devastating fire back in 2010 and we’re so pleased to be able to lend a helping hand with this donation.

“We hope the new library will be enjoyed by generations of pupils to come.

“Persimmon Homes East Scotland has had a fantastic response to our Community Champions initiative and it is always difficult to pick a winner.”

“If applicants have previously been unsuccessful we urge you to visit our website and reapply.”