Hundreds of pupils at a school in Co Down have been sent home after teachers went on strike in a dispute over a pupil who assaulted a teacher.
Teachers at Movilla High School in Newtownards voted not to teach one boy after he assaulted a member of the teaching staff.
The staff made it clear they would still teach all other pupils in the secondary school, but a dispute arose when the school's board of governors decided not to expel the pupil who had been involved in the assault.
The teachers union, the NASUWT, claimed the teachers' pay had been docked for refusing to teach the pupil, and claimed they were told they would be paid to teach all the pupils in the class, or none of them.
The union said all the pupils were being punished for the behaviour of one. This morning, the striking teachers staged a picket at the school - all 540 pupils were sent home.
