Almost3,000pupilsexcluded

C l o s e t o 3 , 0 0 0 secondary school pupils across Fife have been excluded in the past four years.

Figures obtained through a freedom of information request have shown that more than 2,900 pupils across the 18 secondary schools in the region have b e e n e x c l u d e d s i n c e March 1 2016.

It was also revealed that every secondary school bar one in the region has had at least one pupil excluded in each of the four years.

Fo r d a t a p r o t e c t i o n reasons, exact figures are not provided if the number of exclusions in a year group was between one and five pupils.

Levenmouth Academy saw the most exclusions in the region, with 556.

The Buckhaven school opened in August 2016 and most of its exclusions came in the 12- month period between March 2017 and 2018, when there were 283.

Scottish Government figures show that more than half of pupils at Levenmouth live in one of Scotland’s most deprived areas.

Similarly, Beath High School excluded 337 pupils in this period – the second h i g h e s t n u m b e r o f exclusions in Fife.

A quarter of pupils who attend the Cowdenbeath school live in one of the most deprived areas.

In contrast, no pupils were excluded at Waid Academy in Anstruther.

Similarly, Madras College in St Andrews and Queen A n n e Hi g h S c h o o l i n Dunfermline excluded less than 50 pupils.

Data from the Scottish Government shows that just 3% of pupils who attend Waid Academy live in one of the most deprived areas of the country, and less than 1% of pupils who attend Madras live in more deprived areas.

Similarly, only around 13% of pupils at Queen Anne High live in one of the most deprived areas.

Figures also showed that the period between March 2017 and March 2018 had the highest number of exclusions, with around 1,010 pupils affected.

In comparison, the 12 months between March 2019 and March 2019 saw the fewest exclusions – 430 – in the four-year period.

Among the most common reasons for exclusions were persistent disobedience, i n s o l e n t o r o f f e n s i v e behaviour, and fighting.

Head of education at Fife Council, Shelagh Mclean, said that pupils were only excluded when “absolutely necessary”.

TOP CLASS: Waid Academy in Anstruther saw no pupil exclusions during the period.