Catherine Junior School fire: Education officials say they have no idea when school will re-open Education officials have admitted they do not know when a fire-hit school will re-open. A massive asbestos decontamination project will have to take place at Catherine Junior School, in Belgrave, Leicester, following a fire this week. Firefighters tackle the blaze at Catherine Junior School   The school's gym was destroyed in the blaze on Tuesday and the rest of the building was smoke-logged, with harmful asbestos released into the air. It is now likely the 380 pupils will eventually have to go to other schools in the area for lessons. The council has also revealed it is paying out up to 13,000 in compensation to parents for children's clothes and shoes lost in the fire. Vi Dempster, assistant city mayor for children, young people and schools, said: "We are very aware this situation is putting great pressures on families and we are doing all we can to sort this out as quickly as possible, including talking to other schools and education providers in the area. We will finalise arrangements to get children back into school and inform parents as soon as we can next week." The council said the asbestos contamination was confined to the interior of the building, where the damage of the roof was most severe and part of the structure had collapsed. A spokesman said: "All pupils and staff were evacuated from the building before there was any danger of asbestos