STUDENTS today returned to Glasgow School of Art a week after the fire which ravaged the historic Mackintosh Building.

They were due to meet staff to discuss what action to take over their degree show which was due to be held next month in the badly damaged building.

Fine art students were working on setting up their exhibits in the Mackintosh building when the fire broke out.

The majority of their projects survived the blaze intact and the Art School has offered to help any student whose work was damaged.

Remarkably, fire crews managed to save 90% of the Mackintosh building and 70% of the contents.

Offers of both financial and practical help have flooded in from around the world from people desperate for the important building to be restored.

And firefighters have been inundated with messages of thanks from people grateful for their efforts.

First year paint and printing student Melissa Geraghty, 19, who was based in the fire-damaged building, was one of the first students to return.

She said: "It feels really empty and we feel a bit lost. We are worried about where we will go as no one wants to go off campus.

"Coming back is better than sitting watching a closed road. Everyone is just desperate to help in any way we can."

Elise Davidson, 20, a second year textiles student, based the Reid Building, said: "It is really sad some work is gone.

"We don't know if the school will be able to have a degree show. When you think about GSA, you think about fine art.

"Everyone is still edgy about what happened, I don't think it will ever be the same again."

Staff from the Art School and Historic Scotland have started work on the first phase of rebuilding the Mackintosh building.

Experts from the GSA digital design studio have laser scanned the western gable and created a 3D plan and specialists from Historic Scotland have marked up the stones in line with it.