Winnenden  - Pupils in the German town of Winnenden resumed classes Monday, almost two weeks after a teenager killed 16 people in one of Germany's worst school shootings.

The regional schools' director Wolfgang Schiele declared that compulsory attendance resumed Monday, although the Albertville secondary school building, where the shooting took place, is to remain closed.

For the time being, classes for the school's 580 students are being held in community halls in and around Winnenden, until they can be assigned to other schools in the area.

The pupils are to undertake a series of school trips, while teachers are being given pedagogical support in coming weeks.

Students preparing for school leaving exams will have the option of sitting them later in the year than usual.

A former pupil at the school, 17-year-old Tim Kretschmer, shot nine pupils and three teachers when he went on a rampage at his former school on March 11. He killed three more people as he fled, before shooting himself.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Horst Koehler joined 900 mourners for a memorial service in Winnenden on Saturday. A further 3,500 people also came to pay their respects. dpa