Pupils who had to be sent home from their secondary school last term because of teacher shortages are due back on a normal timetable from Tuesday.

Holywells High School in Ipswich, Suffolk, sent children from different year groups home early each day from March 19 until the Easter break.

Only students in their GCSE exam year were not affected.

But the chairman of the school's governors, Chris Jowett, said that when pupils returned to the 920-pupil school on Tuesday the normal timetable would resume.

"We have taken on eight teachers. Two on short term contracts for one term, the others permanently," he said.

"We still have a need for new teachers in September, but it doesn't look too bad.

'Hopeful'

"It looks like we are beginning to get the sort of teachers we want. I'm really quite hopeful about the way things are going."

Most of the teachers at the school voted to join the "cover to contract" industrial action being taken by members of the NUT and NASUWT unions over shortages.

But the head teacher, Barrie Whelpton, said his decision to cut lessons was taken before that vote.

"We got to the stage where we didn't have teachers to put in front of classes - and for the last couple of weeks the deputy head has had to supervise several classes in the library," he said.

Younger pupils lost up to six lessons a week from 19 March because of vacancies for English, science, technology, music and dance teachers.