THE head of a college who was reinstated after a nine month suspension has said she is looking forward to returning to her job.

Susan Walsh, the principal of Glasgow Clyde College, told lecturers in an email that she was glad to be back and looking forward to working with the new board.

Mrs Walsh was suspended on full pay by former board chairman George Chalmers in February after complaints from unions of a "perceived culture" of fear and bullying.

However, after months of stalemate the entire board was sacked by Angela Constance, the Education Secretary, partly because of concerns they had racked up thousands of pounds in fees for legal advice related to the case.

Earlier this month the new board decided to reinstate Mrs Walsh without a disciplinary hearing on the allegations of bullying.

In her email to staff Mrs Walsh said: "What I am looking forward to is returning to Glasgow Clyde and to hearing what's been happening in my absence.

"I've met with the new chair Alex Linkston and have been impressed by his deep understanding of further education and his commitment to ensuring a bright and successful future for our college.

"The new board brings us a very impressive range of skills and expertise and I'm also very much looking forward to working with them."

Mrs Walsh went on to thank senior members of staff for the work they had done over the past nine months and added: "As you can see I'm back online so you can easily get hold of me and do stop me in the corridor as I get round the campuses over the next few days."

The move to reinstate Mrs Walsh has been welcomed by students, but trade unions said the issues of bullying raised at the time of her suspension had still not been dealt with.