We would like the children and the parents to be able to walk up the street unhindered and with no abuse

Professor Brice Dickson

"We would like the children and the parents to be able to walk up the street unhindered and with no abuse."

Professor Dickson was again heckled by parents as he made his comments.

On Tuesday, loyalists involved in the protest displayed a poster marking the anniversary of the Shankill bombing.

On the poster were the words "Walk of Shame", attached to photographs of the bomb victims.

The pupils have been escorted past the loyalist protesters by the security forces every day since the beginning of the school term.

The placard and whistle protest has been relatively peaceful in recent weeks, but it erupted into violence at the beginning of September.

Threat of violence

Sinn Fein's Gerry Kelly said the Catholic parents had taken a death threat made against them by a loyalist grouping very seriously.

The Red Hand Defenders, a cover name used by the Ulster Defence Association and the Loyalist Volunteer Force, said it would take "military action" against parents who walked up the road on Tuesday morning.

Gerry Kelly: Threats taken seriously

Mr Kelly, a north Belfast assembly member, said the parents discussed the threat before the school run.

The Northern Ireland Office, local politicians and church leaders have been involved in trying to resolve the dispute.

But despite recent meetings talks, no resolution has yet been reached.

Pupils will no attend the school next week because of the mid-term break.