Pupils at Thorpe Bay School downed pens and walked out of lessons in protest at a lack of teaching staff today.

More than 50 year 11 pupils set up a protest on the playing fields of the Southchurch Boulevard school, claiming their GCSE work was being ruined by inadequate teaching.

The pupils claim only a fraction of staff are available for lessons, despite assurances from headmaster Graham Blois only one or two vacancies existed.

Thorpe Bay is already on special measures after Ofsted inspectors filed a damning report after a visit last June

Year 11 pupil Sabrina Smith, 16, from Fernbrook Avenue, Southend, said a 70 per cent truancy rate was partly because there are no teachers to take lessons.

She said today: "We are not moving until we get some teachers.

"I haven't had a maths teacher since October, we just sit there and do worksheets. There are no proper maths teachers to take the class.

"We don't want to go to school when we have no teachers, what's the point in us being there? This is our GCSE year and we are not going to pass anything."

However, headmaster Graham Blois insisted only one vacancy existed within the three strong maths department, and English was at full strength at the 780-pupil school.

He said: "There is a national shortage of teachers and there certainly is a recruitment deficit in Southend, and we are a part of that. We do have vacancies, but we are not short of teachers.

"We have not filled those posts with permanent placements yet but we have a good body of supply staff.

"There is a national shortage of maths teachers but pupils are being taught maths - there have been changes to the timetable to make sure they get the maths input."

Mr Blois also said the new £60,000 electronic registration scheme was just one strategy for attendance and was being phased in to every class.

He continued: "It helps us to monitor attendance but it is not a student tracking system. It is still possible for a student to walk out."

The anti-truancy system was introduced following a damning report from OFSTED inspectors which resulted in the school being put on special measures.

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