The number of children being excluded from schools in East Sussex has soared.

In the last academic year – 2010/2011 – 70 schoolchildren were excluded from primary and secondary schools across the county.

This is an average of nearly six a month.

Five years ago in 2006/2007 the number of children excluded was 30 – an average of 2.5 a month.

A council spokesman said the authority is aware numbers had “risen recently” but said they were not sure exactly why, only that they did fluctuate.

But the rate of exclusions which have increased by just a few year-on-year, soared in 2010/2011.

The full figures are:

  • 2006/2007 (30 exclusions)
  • 2007/2009 (36 exclusions)
  • 2008/2009 (38 exclusions)
  • 2009/2010 (44 exclusions)
  • 2010/2011 (70 exclusions)


The council spokesman said: “The decision to exclude a pupil, either permanently or for a fixed period of time, is made by the school.

“Although the figures have risen recently, they do fluctuate from year to year and they are considerably lower than they have been in the past.

Pupils can be excluded for varying periods of time and exclusions can be fixed or temporary.

The figures were provided under a Freedom of Information request.