BAD behaviour in Dorset and Hampshire's secondary schools has been shown to the back of the class, according to Local Education Authority figures.

The number of pupils being permanently excluded at either primary or secondary schools in some LEAs has seen a significant reduction.

Most impressive are those figures produced by schools in Bournemouth where the total number of exclusions has plummeted from 40 to 7.

And in Poole a similar fall from 26 in 1997/98 to just 10 in 2001 was recorded.

Within these LEAs it is secondary schools that have made a marked improvement to reveal a dramatic decline in the number of pupils expelled.

In Bournemouth the number has fallen from 28 in 1997/98 to just two, and in Poole figures had gone from 21 to nine.

Nigel Bowes, children's support service manager at Bournemouth LEA, praised the schools for their efforts to reduce the number of permanent exclusions.

"It is an achievement for all the schools but the secondary schools have had an advantage from the resources they received from central government," he said.

"The local authority has worked with the schools but it is primarily an achievement by the schools."

Despite seeing a slight increase on the previous year's figures, Paul Taylor, head of pupil and parent support services at Poole, said he was pleased with the low number of permanent exclusions.

"The LEA works in partnership with schools and their governing body to prevent permanent exclusions wherever possible," he said.

"We promote an early intervention strategy to support the individual needs of pupils, before they reach the point where it becomes necessary to permanently exclude them from school."

Hampshire also recorded a 14 per cent decrease in the total number of permanent exclusions this year. The county recorded a total of 152, which is 60 per cent below the figure in 1996/97.

Unlike Poole and Bournemouth significant drops were highlighted within the primary sector - from 28 to 17 - and a 50 per cent drop from 12 to 6 at special schools.

Dorset County Council failed to follow the trend. A decline in the number of permanent exclusions from 66 to 57 over the four-year period has been achieved, but this year's figures are up by 23 on the 1999/2000 records.

A significant increase was shown in the secondary sector and Mike Young, deputy director of education for Dorset, said this was primarily a result of recent government legislation which makes it easier to exclude pupils where there has been a threat of violence.

He did add that a strategy to work with schools helping them maintain the behaviour of pupils by dealing with cases before they turn to exclusions, is on the cards.