Pupils have returned to Oxford's only Muslim faith school despite continuing uncertainty over its future.

Trustees at the Iqra School, at the Lawn Upton building in Littlemore, have decided to allow more than 140 pupils at the all-girls secondary school to resume lessons. This was despite failing to raise the £2m needed to purchase the building from the Diocese of Oxford and Oxford County Council.

However, the diocese has said it is now in consultation with its solicitors "as to the appropriate next steps", pointing to the fact the school entered into a legally binding contract to purchase the premises by July 31.

School trustees' chairman Dr Hojjat Ramzy, pictured, conceded the school was in a perilous situation and it could face eviction.

He said: "The school is trying to go forward, we've got all the pupils and teachers back and our main focus remains the children's education.

"I hope that it does not come to that (eviction) for the sake of the children. But as far as fundraising goes, we are still not there.

"We are at the mercy of the diocese and the county council now, who know that we do not have the money."