And he said that schools may soon need a strong security presence to protect teachers from attacks by schoolchildren.

Mr. Charles, President of the Bermuda Union of Teachers, said: "Assaults on teachers are becoming a big worry.

"If teachers' safety -- and maybe even their lives -- are going to be at risk every time they go into school, we're going to need something.'' The grim warning came after an Island secondary school teacher was the alleged victim of an assault on Friday by a 14-year-old boy wielding a crash helmet.

It is further alleged the pupil then stormed out of the class. It is claimed that minutes later, a bottle crashed through the classroom window, causing a serious injury above the eye of another pupil, also 14.

Mr. Charles said: "Something has to be done before someone is seriously injured or even killed.'' And he called on the Minister for Education, the Hon. Jerome Dill, to have talks with teachers' representatives in a bid to crack down on violence against teachers.

Mr. Charles also said that parents worried about their children's education being disrupted should petition the Minister for action against schoolroom thugs.

A Police spokeswoman confirmed that officers had been called to a school on Friday after an alleged incident and that an investigation is underway. The pupils involved cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Mr. Charles said: "In the past we tried to keep these things at school level, but it becoming rampant. Schools can't do much about it and teachers are now refusing to keep quiet.

"They're now reporting these matters to the Police and that is what we are advising them to do because they don't seem to be getting any redress anywhere else.'' The latest violence follows an incident a few weeks ago when a teacher was hit by a concrete block thrown by a pupil.

Mr. Charles admitted he did not know the cause of the upsurge in violence in schools, but said it had been increasing for years.

He said: "There is a breakdown completely throughout society -- you see it in the community and I guess it's just following us into schools.

"A minority of students know that the teachers' hands are tied and that they are powerless beyond verbal discipline or detention.'' Mr. Charles claimed that teachers had been complaining about violence for years, but that successive Education Ministers had "brushed away'' complaints.

Education Minister, the Hon. Jerome Dill, said he accepted there were numerous problems in the school system, including violence and drugs.

Mr. Dill said all secondary school teachers had received special training in behaviour management to defuse potentially violent confrontations.

And he added: "A code of conduct will be introduced in the life of this Parliament which will contains sections on violence and substance abuse, which in some cases are linked.'' Alternative programmes to take seriously disruptive or violent youngsters out of the normal classroom setting for specialist education will also be introduced.

Even more radical measures to stamp out violence will also be introduced, but Mr. Dill declined to be more specific.

Mr. Dill agreed with Mr. Charles that society's problems were being reflected in schools -- but ruled out the future use of security guards.

He said: "I would never minimise the problem of violence in schools -- but in reality is there is nothing to be gained by being alarmist.''