Miss Rusty wins her employment appeal

Her lawyer Keith Lomax said the reasoning of lay members on the original tribunal was criticised and the case sent back to it for a fresh decision.

“It will have to take into account the findings of the appeal, accept it got it wrong, look at the guidance and come to a decision properly reasoned,” he said.

“It’s a great success for Ms Rustamova and an important result.”

Details of the appeal hearing will be published later and it could be next spring before the original panel gives its second ruling.

Ms Rustamova (also known as Miss Rusty) was sacked by governors at Calder High School, Mytholmroyd, after writing a controversial racy novel featuring pupils.

She said: “I’m really pleased. It’s the best result I could have had.”

Next month Ms Rustamova appears before the General Teaching Council. But she is in no hurry to return to schoolteaching. She currently teaches creative writing at Huddersfield University and in Leeds.

“I am thoroughly enjoying it and I am going to stick with what I am doing for now. I feel a lot of malaise for how the state system works in education and want to do new, positive things.”