The chairman of governors at the Berkeley Institute yesterday declared it a ?very sad day for the school? after three students were expelled following a violent incident.

Calvin White told it was ?incredibly rare? for a pupil to be permanently excluded from the 110-year-old school. But he added that the trio ? whom he described as being involved in a ?melee? on January 17 ? had posed a threat to safety and to the school?s objective of allowing children to grow academically.

?Whenever there is a threat to this principle goal, especially where the safety of our students is involved, the school has no choice but to remove the threat as quickly as possible.? Mr. White would not give any details of the incident or the age and gender of the students or say whether the Police were involved. He said: ?Quite frankly, I?m not interested in sensationalising the matter. It?s done, it?s completed and I just want to continue to move on.? An anonymous teacher at the school, whose past pupils include the Premier and several Government Ministers, said she understood the expelled students were involved in a fight on the premises.

?I think in this case they had to show a hard stance because if that doesn?t happen you?ll have the usual suspects doing the same thing.

?For those that weren?t sure what the stance was, I think now they know. Berkeley has a reputation for the type of student that goes there and the type of conduct. The phrase ?conduct unbecoming a Berkeleyite? really means something.?

Mr. White issued a statement yesterday afternoon which said the school regretted the ?worrisome and unfortunate? circumstances which led to the unusual convening of its disciplinary panel, which is made up of governors, teachers, students and parents.

But he said after careful deliberation and examination of the evidence it was decided that the students involved in the ?melee? be transferred out of the Berkeley Institute with immediate effect.

?As educators, we take these hearings very seriously, recognising that we are dealing with the future of each child involved,? he said.

It was not clear yesterday where the students ? who are believed to be boys ? would be transferred to. Mr. White told this newspaper: ?The Ministry of Education will have to make a decision as to what happens to them now.?

His statement said the parents of the three were invited to Berkeley on Tuesday to complete transfer procedures.

He added: ?As chairman of the Berkeley Institute board of governors, I have to say that this is a very sad day for the school. Our core values and our mandate as educators does not envision having to expel students.

?Rather it is to create an environment and offer programmes of instruction where each child, regardless of his background and past experiences, can grow academically. As such, we are more than willing to work with anyone who is willing to work with us in achieving that objective.?

School principal Michelle Simmons declined to comment on the expulsions, as did Parent Teacher Student Association president Debbie Jones-Hunter.

A Government spokesman said last night that Education Minister Randy Horton was not in a position to comment. ?He has not had a chance to peruse the Berkeley board?s communication on this.?

A Bermuda Police Service spokesman said that without knowing more about the incident he could not comment on whether it was being investigated.