Classes started again at Movilla High in Newtownards, Northern Ireland, last week, following three weeks of industrial action by teaching staff.

Twenty-five teachers, backed by the NASUWT, had taken to the picket line in mid-October over an alleged assault on a teacher. The walkout was prompted by the decision to dock the wages of staff who refused to teach the 15-year-old at the centre of the allegations.

Talks between education board officials and union representatives had been in deadlock over an independent assessment of the teenager’s needs.

The pupil is due to appear in juvenile court this month in relation to the incident.