Hundreds of pupils returned to school today after a panel fell off the ceiling of their �24million secondary in Dagenham.

Dagenham Park secondary headteacher Simon Weaver asked students to stay at home yesterday while workers removed similar panels as a safety precaution.

The 1,100-place secondary in School Road shut for one day for all pupils except the year 11 group and sixth form students.

The panel used to dampen sound collapsed in a public area on Friday evening.

Dagenham Park underwent a �24million redevelopment last year as part of the Building Schools for the Future programme.

A school spokesman said: “Due to unforeseen circumstances Dagenham Park School is undergoing some building repairs.

“These are being addressed by the building contractors and dealt with extremely quickly and promptly.”

Barking and Dagenham Council said the secondary was partially closed yesterday but stressed all pupils were back at school today.