Elena Grice organised a demonstration outside her school

A 15-year-old girl who was banned from school after organising an anti-war demonstration has been allowed to return.

Elena Grice, from Rayne, Essex, was branded "a very silly girl" by a judge after her High Court appeal against the punishment.

She will now be allowed to return to Helena Romanes School in Braintree, Essex, on a restricted basis to complete her studies and sit seven GCSEs.

Mr Justice Collins said Elena had justifiably been disciplined because of several previous clashes with authority, rather than the protest on its own.

'Appalling behaviour'

He added: "She is a very silly girl, but even silly girls are entitled to a proper opportunity to achieve what they can best achieve."

Elena was the main organiser of a demonstration involving 500 people against the war in Iraq. This took place on a grass area outside the school on March 20.

The Helena Romanes board of governors decided on Monday to uphold the head teacher's earlier decision to exclude Elena.

But the civil rights group Liberty claimed this was a breach of her freedom of speech and backed the High Court appeal.

However, Mr Justice Collins said the "spin" being put on the case that a schoolgirl had been disciplined for exercising this right was "totally the wrong way to look at it".

Her disruptive and sometimes "appalling" behaviour had led to the exclusion decision.

Mr Justice Collins said arrangements could be made but warned Elena, who was not in court, that she was on "a knife edge".

Any further bad behaviour, including a refusal to wear full school uniform, could result in full exclusion.

The judge said one of the conditions for her being allowed to complete her studies would be an apology for allegedly "greatly upsetting" one teacher by calling her a "Fascist cow".

He added that he was not lifting the exclusion order but only modifying it.

Lawyers for Elena and the school are drawing up a suitable "timetable" for her.

This is expected to keep her from mixing freely with other pupils and to ensure she spends most of her time on the premises in the library.