Government's alternative school at Warwick Camp will not cater to students who simply misbehave, Education Minister Jerome Dill has disclosed.

The alternative school, which is expected to be fully operational by February, will accommodate some 20 students and be run by a staff of nine.

And while it will take in both middle and senior school students, Mr. Dill told The Royal Gazette he did not expect the programme to be oversubscribed.

He stressed that the school was only for those students with "severe behaviour disorders''.

"A lot of these kids do not need to be in an alternative school at all,'' Mr.

Dill said. "They are just rude, malicious, or destructive.'' "For example,'' he added, "there are certain kids who lash out without understanding what they are doing. That is a child with a behaviour disorder.

Then there are others who know full well what they are doing and have chosen to be rude and malicious.'' Such students, Mr. Dill said, will be expelled from school if they failed to abide by the Code of Conduct in place.

He also noted that teachers, principals and the Chief Education Officer through experience were able to make the distinction between students with behaviour disorders and those who were just rude.

But last month after five CedarBridge Academy students were arrested for offences linked to disturbances at the school and at the Hamilton bus terminal, both Premier Pamela Gordon and Mr. Dill indicated that the alternative school would be set up for such students.

Ms Gordon said any disruptive students will be weeded out and put in an "alternative environment'' where they will be taught how to assimilate in a learning environment.

"We're talking about a maximum of 30 children,'' she said. "We will separate them and we are prepared to stand tall on this issue. We're not going to let a few destroy it for many.'' Government was waiting for a list of names of disruptive students from CedarBridge, she said.

"Young people will be warned and then they will be removed from the school.'' "If students repeated disruptive behaviour after returning to regular classes, there would be no alternative but to expel them from the school system,'' Mr. Dill said at the time.