Figures released by the Department for Education and Employment reveal that 12,700 pupils were permanently excluded from state schools during 1996-97 - an increase of around 200 on the previous year and a new record.

The Schools Minister, Estelle Morris, said the government was spending �22m on measures to reverse the trend.

"These figures show that permanent exclusions are continuing to run at an unacceptable level," she said.

"A further increase of 200 from the previous year's level shows the scale of the task we face."

The government's Social Exclusion Unit has committed the government to a reduction of one third in the number of permanent exclusions.

Ruin

The General Secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, David Hart, said he was not surprised by the record level of exclusions.

"There are many reasons - inadequate resources, integration of special needs children into mainstream schools, poor parenting and a breakdown in community and family structure," he said.

"National targets to reduce the level of exclusions are all very well, but this will not work unless schools are given the resources and support they need to tackle the growing number of pupils who ruin the education of their fellow students.

"To pretend otherwise is to deceive the public into thinking there are quick fix solutions to a highly complex and deep-seated problem."