NEARLY 30,000 pupils have been suspended from schools in Surrey, with hundreds more being permanently expelled for assault, drug and alcohol-related incidents and sexual misconduct.
According to the information, which is held by Surrey County Council and was released to the Advertiser following a Freedom of Information request, at least 29,625 pupils have been suspended and 343 more expelled in the past five years.
The most common reason for expulsion is persistent disruptive behaviour, with 164 incidents recorded since the 2008/9 academic year.
Physical assault against fellow pupils is the second most common cause, with 65 pupils being expelled for this reason in the last five years.
With 7,668 incidents, disruptive behaviour is also the most common reason for a pupil to be suspended, with 6,811 incidents of threatening behaviour and verbal abuse against adults coming in second.
In a joint statement responding to the figures, Dorking head teachers David Blow (The Ashcombe) and Andre Sohatski (The Priory) said: "Schools in Mole Valley work effectively together to ensure that there is alternative learning provision so that pupils at risk of permanent exclusion can have a constructive good education without disrupting the learning of others.
"As a result, there have been very few permanent exclusions in Mole Valley in recent years and this has also significantly reduced the number of fixed-term exclusions which those pupils would have received if they had still been in school years.
"We take a firm line with any incidents of unacceptable behaviour and a fixed-term exclusion sends a clear message to the pupil, parent and school community that this will not be tolerated.
"The exclusion is then usually followed up with further in-school sanctions and, if relevant, support for the pupil to change their behaviour."
But Alan Mitchell, head teacher of St Andrew's School in Leatherhead, said: "I personally have never excluded someone permanently because I think it damages their life chances.
"Sending someone home is not good for them, it's not good for parents and it's not good for teachers. Sometimes it will happen in the very short term if we really feel it's necessary.
"We try and make sure children are all treated the same way in every single lesson, every single day. We have systems in place to try and make sure they have an identical experience in every subject they take. That's what works for us."
Surrey County Council spokeswoman Joy Ridley said the authority worked closely with schools to help promote good behaviour, and assisted schools in managing pupils.
"We provide education for more than 140,000 children, and excellent progress has been made over the past few years in reducing the number of permanent exclusions," she added.
"We work with Surrey head teachers through the Surrey Alternative Learning Programme to ensure all young people at risk of exclusion receive the support they need."
Pupil behaviour is one of the key performance indicators used by school inspectors.
According to Ofsted, when inspectors analyse the behaviour of pupils they take into account their attitudes to learning, their behaviour around the school and in lessons, including the level of disruption, their attitude towards other pupils and adults, and how expectations of behaviour are managed along with the school's management of consistent good behaviour.
The education watchdog said inspectors regularly requested records of exclusions and incidents of poor behaviour.
