By Susan Sandys  September 9 2010

Saturday's earthquake has forced the evacuation of six classes from a two-storey bock at Ashburton Intermediate.

Building inspectors have yellow stickered the building which has visible cracks in its exterior plaster.

Teachers are doing their best to cope, and have shifted their pupils to the hall, IT suite, library, music room, science room and kapa haka room.

Teacher Jade Tonks has her 31 pupils in the hall, where a ping pong table is doubling as a large desk. The large echoey space has forced her to use a loud whistle to gain pupils' attention.

Additionally she and pupils have had to move to other classrooms during drum lessons in an adjoining music room, and have to shift all their desks and chairs for school assemblies.

"So it's hard to teach lessons," Miss Tonks said.

The upheaval, following the earthquake and continuing aftershocks, had made pupils excitable.

Twelve-year-old Murran Buller said she could not wait to get back to her classroom.

"I find it annoying because it's so echoey and people keep on talking, taking it for granted," she said.

But her friend Zoe Lee thought it was fun "because it's not our normal classroom."

Fellow 12-year-olds Hamish Eden and Liam Woodford envy their fellow Christchurch pupils who are having time off school due to quake damage, but are enjoying being able to play table tennis and volleyball during classroom breaks.

"It's way better," Hamish said of the 'new' classroom.

Principal Gavin Cooper said a structural engineer had visited and assessed the building, but had a big workload following the quake and had yet to report to the Ashburton District Council.

"I can't do anything until the council comes in and takes that sticker off," he said.

He hoped that would happen today, or by Friday at the latest.

He had recently discovered the further damage of a cracked sewer pipe, and this meant the toilets in the two-storey building were shut as well.