SCHOOLS have paid tribute to the four girls who died in the horrific Tremellen Street house fire.
Sayrah, 16, and Sophia, 15, attended Moorhead Sports College, where Sayrah was deputy head girl, while Alicia, 10, was a pupil at Hyndburn Park School, where Hannah, three, was due to start next year.
Caneze Riaz, the children's mother, who was also found dead in the upstairs of the terraced house, was a staff member, governor and herself believed to be a fomer pupil at Hyndburn Park.
Headteacher John Boden said he could not yet find the right words to tell his pupils about the tragedy but a special assembly had been arranged for yesterday morning.
He said: "I and the whole school staff were saddened by the tragic news. All the children, apart from the youngest who was due to start next year, had come through the school and they were all liked by staff and children alike."
He added: "Alicia was a popular member of one of our Year 6 classes. She was just a really nice girl and will be missed by all the school.
"The school offers its support to the family at this tragic time."
Mr Boden has been liaising with Andrew Bateman, headteacher of Moorhead, about holding a joint memorial service for the children.
Mr Bateman said: "I am totally shocked. It's tragic. This has affected everyone who is closely involved with the school because the mother has been linked with a number of projects that were running."
He said that Sayrah was a well-respected member of the school community. She was elected by the staff and students as deputy head girl and was the current charity representative for her form tutor group. Sophia was said to have trained to be a school mentor for the new intake of Year 7 pupils.
Mr Bateman added: "This is a tremendous loss to our school. Our sympathies go out to the remaining family members."
Josephine McHale, 15, of Garden Street, Accrington, who attends Moorhead, said that she has been a close friend of Sayrah since they started secondary school.
She added: "We were good friends at school, she was bubbly and a nice girl. I could talk to her about anything.
"When we heard it was the Riaz family, we didn't realise it was them at first.
"What else can we do but cry?"
