Parents were delighted last night after Minister for Education and Development Paula Cox announced that a new site had been found to house an alternative school for students with behavioural problems.

The Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) of CedarBridge Academy said a separate facility to help bring unruly student into line was exactly what they had been pushing for - but they had no idea it would come so soon.

Spokesman for the PTSA Robin Richardson said he was ecstatic that a site had been found for the alternative school. He said: "I'm flabbergasted. We didn't expect it to happen so quickly. To say I'm pleased is an understatement. The PTSA was only talking about this last week. We thought we were going to have to start pressuring Government to look at it."

He added: "This is what we have been pushing for."

In an address to the House of Assembly, Ms Cox said she had worked with the Ministry of Works and Engineering to find a suitable location for the new school and now was working towards applying for planning permission.

The news will be welcome for hundreds of parents and teachers in the public system who have complained of having too many out-of-control students who are disrupting lessons for others.

The Education Centre, which is housed in the Salvation Army church to deal with difficult students, can only cater for a handful of pupils so was insufficient to meet the Island's needs.

Ms Cox said in Parliament yesterday: "I am pleased to report that, after weeks of negotiations, a suitable site has been found and we will apply for the necessary planning approvals.

Technical officers within the Ministry of Education and Development have identified the adjustments that need to be made to the building.

"Once planning approval has been confirmed, staff of the Ministry of Works and Engineering will prepare the site. As a Ministry, we are well aware that to address the concerns of our educators and parents, we need to be able to provide a safer working environment.

"Much work has been done on a number of fronts. The work continues. There is a continuum - interim, short-term and the long-term solutions - which is the ideal we are working towards."

And Ms Cox said well-disciplined students were the norm in the public education system.

She added: "Though, it is the minority of the badly behaved, incorrigible students, who often garner the public scrutiny at the expense of those students who are doing what they ought.

"There is no doubt that if this small number of students are allowed to continue to detract from the safe learning environment, the majority who come to be educated, and the educators who are there to teach, will suffer. This cannot be condoned."

Ms Cox did not explain which site had been chosen for the new school, what the time frame was or how many students it would cater to.

Those details would come later, she said.

The call for an expanded alternative school came after rising discipline problems with behaviour in the public system came to light.

At Christmas, the entire teaching staff at CedarBridge Academy held a sit-in over unruly behaviour, and claimed they feared for their safety and the safety of other students.

Then in March this year, a security guard at the school was rushed to intensive care after being repeatedly stabbed by an intruder, alleged to be a former pupil.

Parents at the school demanded something be done to remove the bad element to allow the well-meaning students to learn.

Mr. Richardson added last night: "It's only a very small percentage of students that are causing problems. We wanted a `win-win' situation. These are not throw-away kids we are talking about. We want them to come back into the mainstream system once they have settled down.

"They are children who have had some hard choices to make in life, not necessarily their own. I know they will get the individual attention they need from trained teachers."

And in her speech yesterday, the Minister also revealed that the much awaited new Code of Conduct for all public schools will be released this coming September.

It will outline how schools should handle disciplinary problems and what action they should take. The Minister said it had been compiled with input from principals, teachers, parents, selected middle and senior school students, the Bermuda Union of Teachers, Police and officers at the Ministry.

She said: "The new Code of Conduct is complete. Members will recall that the new Code of Conduct will replace all other codes used by Government schools.

"As of September 2002, all students who attend Government schools will be governed by a consistent set of rules and, should they commit an infraction, there will be consequences based on an objective set of criteria.

"The Code of Conduct will be printed and distributed to parents and schools in readiness for the opening of the new school year."