A SCHOOL teacher has been suspended after a complaint that he assaulted a pupil.

The incident is said to have happened at Sharples High, in Hill Cot Road, Sharples, just before the summer break.

The teacher, believed to be a man, has been suspended and parents have been informed. An inquiry is being carried out.

A spokesman for Bolton Council refused to give specific details about the alleged incident. He said to do so would prejudice their investigations.

But he did say: "We can confirm that a member of staff has been suspended while certain allegations are investigated."

School bosses have not revealed the identity of the teacher.

The chairman of the school governors, Cllr Hilary Fairclough, said: "The parents are being kept fully informed and up to date about the situation."

The alleged assault is the latest in a number of incidents at the school.

In April, teachers threatened a walkout when the governing body made a decision to allow a 14-year-old boy to return to the school after he punched a teacher in the face.

The month before, another teenager, who had been excluded from the school, walked into a lesson and attacked two boys.

And in October last year, two youngsters were injured in fighting at the school which led to two pupils being arrested and another 12 being suspended.

Barry Conway, secretary of the Bolton branch of the NUT said he had no knowledge of the case, but added: "Situations arise where people behave as they do not intend. That goes for pupils and teachers, because of the increasing pressures on them today. Each case should be taken as a stand-alone case."