Joe Wicks Returns To Celebrate Reopening Of Fire

Celebrity fitness coach Joe Wicks has kept his promise and returned to celebrate the opening of a school that was badly damaged in a fire.

The blaze at Yatton Infants School, in Somerset, in May 2023 destroyed half of the roof.

Following a plea for help from a teacher, Mr Wicks made a special trip to the damaged school and promised to return when it was rebuilt.

He said: “There was a camera crew there and someone said ‘look, you better come back when the school’s been built’ and I said ‘yeah, of course I will’. So two and half years later, here I am, I’m a man of my word.”

The village school, which has about 200 pupils, has finally been rebuilt and the children have moved back into their new classrooms.

Mr Wicks said he came back not just to celebrate the opening of the school but to “give the kids a little work out and get them feeling positive for the day”.

“They’re so wonderful and happy and energetic but also the effort they’ve made,” he said.

“They’ve got little signs up saying ‘welcome back Joe’ and these things make me feel very welcome.

“It’s just nice coming full circle from a really upsetting event to this beautiful new school for the kids.”

Sarah Howard, the school’s deputy headteacher, said following the fire it was “like we were grieving a loss”.

“The school had lots of things in, our belongings, teachers had things they’d gathered over the years, their children’s learning was in the classrooms that had burnt, little bits of children’s things in drawers that had been left behind,” she said.

“It was just shock and sadness.”

The schoolchildren, said it had been “difficult” waiting for their school to be rebuilt.

“We had to go on a bus every day to different schools and get used to different schools and different classrooms than what we were used to,” said one of the schoolgirls.

Another girl, said: “We had to meet new people since it was a different school, so we made a couple of new friends, but I don’t think many people did.”

One of the boys, said: “It’s very, very fun and it’s much bigger so we can have space on the carpet.”