Teacher who lost voice given £150, 000

An English teacher who lost her voice trying to make herself heard in a noisy classroom has been awarded more than £150,000 in compensation.

Joyce Walters had to give up teaching after developing nodules on her vocal chords and she can still only speak for a short period before she gets a sore throat and her voice becomes hoarse.

Walters, 50, said the injuries had been caused by having to speak loudly over noise outside her classroom in Hillingdon, north-west London. She was given a classroom next to a courtyard used by schoolchildren during playtimes, and says she often had to shout to be heard above the noise.

Within a month, she claims, she had a sore throat, which got progressively worse. She says she repeatedly asked for help from her bosses but nothing was done and her complaints were dismissed as "an occupational hazard."

After taking the council to a disability discrimination employment tribunal, she was awarded an out-of-court settlement of £11,000; a second settlement, of £145,000, was agreed in July.

The combined six-figure sum is thought to be one of the largest payouts received by a teacher.