A POLICE investigation into allegations of abuse against the headteacher of a school for the deaf was thrown into disarray yesterday after the original complainer withdrew her accusations.

Mr David Scott, the principal of Donaldson's College in Edinburgh, was suspended in April after allegations made by a girl pupil at the school.

But yesterday Lothian and Borders Police confirmed the teenage girl, who alleged she had been physically and emotionally abused by Mr Scott, had withdrawn all complaints.

However, they said other allegations made by different children in the wake of the girl's complaints were still being investigated.

The school has been under the spotlight since the girl made her allegations and the board took the decision to suspend Mr Scott.

A second, female teacher, was also suspended after the girl made allegations against her, but she was reinstated after it was found the complaints did not stand up.

In the wake of the publicity surrounding the allegations, however, further complaints have been made against Mr Scott, and two other teachers have been accused of sexual abuse by former pupils.

Yesterday the board of governors at the school faced tough decisions over the future of the girl whose claims sparked the crisis.

They have to decide whether she will remain there or whether the situation will be too difficult for her.

One teacher at the school said: ''While we don't want to give our children the message that making a complaint will lead to them being punished, it may be too hard for her to stay.

''The whole thing has got so out of hand and word has passed between the pupils. Now she has to face her classmates and teachers and must be protected.''

Mr Scott was suspended by the school's board of governors in April after the girl's allegations were made. No charges have been brought against him by police.

The scandal has rocked the school, the oldest of its kind in the world, which was founded in 1760.

It was the first of its kind to develop an ordinary curriculum by teaching deaf pupils, aged between three and 17, on a one-to-one basis and teaching English as a foreign language.

Its impressive building, set in 17 acres of land, was designed in the grand gothic style by W H Playfair, who also designed the Royal Scottish Academy on the Mound, and funded by a donation from the will of the wealthy Edinburgh publisher, James Donaldson.

Over the years many dignitaries have visited Donaldson's, including the Princess Royal, John Major, and the late Princess of Wales, who delighted the pupils when she communicated with them using sign language.

Donaldson's assumed the title of college in 1991, the year David Scott became principal.

As well as teaching deaf pupils - many of them have been profoundly deaf since birth - other children taught in the school include some with autism and other behavioural or physical problems.

There are more than 80 pupils at Donaldson's College, most of them boarders from all over Scotland.

Yesterday, Lothian and Borders Police said it was continuing its investigation into a number of complaints involving the school.

A spokesman said: ''I can confirm complaints by one person have been withdrawn. They were the original complaints, others which have come out since are still being investigated.''

Mr Scott's suspension will remain until the police have finished the inquiry and the findings are known, but he was said yesterday to be optimistic for the future.

He has refused to comment on the investigation.