Head teachers in Soham have praised the strength of schoolchildren who they said, had coped well with returning to school after the killings of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Geoff Fisher, the head of St Andrew's Primary where the schoolgirls were pupils and Howard Gilbert, the head of Soham Village College, said the town was on its way to being happy again.

Both schools re-opened on Monday and have held special ceremonies to remember the girls, whose bodies were found on August 17, nearly two weeks after they disappeared.

Among staff returning to St Andrew's this week was Jessica's mother, Sharon, who is a classroom assistant.

Holly's brother, Oliver and Jessica's sister, Alison, were among pupils returning to the Village College.

On Monday, St Andrew's released two doves and a similar ceremony was held at Soham Village College on 12 September.

St Andrew's head teacher Geoff Fisher explained how the school was dealing with what had happened.

"I told the children in assembly `It's all right to be happy. It's good to be happy'.

"We told them `It's all right to talk about Holly and Jessica. It's all right to talk about our memories.

"`It's all right to be upset, we are all upset. But it's also all right to be happy. Remember that our school has always been a happy school and we want it to be happy again.'

"It has been very positive. I think we are on the way to being a happy school again."

Children playing

Ian Huntley, 28, a former caretaker at Soham Village College, is being held at Rampton secure hospital charged with the girls' murders and with attempting to pervert the course of justice.

His girlfriend Maxine Carr, 25, has been accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Howard Gilbert, the head teacher of Soham Village College said:"A few weeks ago I said I longed to see children smiling and playing normally again in the playground.

"And I'm glad to say I have seen that now. I thought of those words as I walked through the playground this week and looked at them smiling and playing again."

The head teachers said parents at the school had played a big part in helping both schools make a good start to the new term.