Pupils said Mr Walker cared and had made them work hard

History teacher Malcolm Walker sparked a row at Headlands school after writing a letter to his tutor group.

"I think the permanent teachers have been treated without respect and students have been neglected (denied a proper education)," it read.

The school has threatened disciplinary action against Mr Walker, who said he intends to leave at the end of term.

School 'anarchy'

About 40 of the students refused to return to lessons after the walkout on Monday.

At 1300 BST the school was closed and on Tuesday just two of the five years had been told to return to lessons.

The school said the action had been taken because feelings were running high.

One teacher described the scenes as "anarchy".

Swindon Borough Council said it was "disappointed" with Mr Walker's actions and that all years were expected to return as normal on Thursday.

The council dismissed the behaviour of most of the teenagers as "jumping on the bandwagon".

But some pupils said they were upset at Mr Walker's departure because he cared and had made them work hard.

Headlands was judged to be failing badly enough to be placed in special measures by education watchdog Ofsted in October 2002.