violence.

And she appealed to parents, particularly of those at CedarBridge Academy, to gain control of their children.

If not, she warned, Government will be forced to take drastic measures, including expelling students and banning them from the Hamilton bus depot.

She was speaking a day after Police arrested five CedarBridge students for offences linked to disturbances at the school in Prospect and at the bus depot.

One of the five students, a 16-year-old from Pembroke, is scheduled to appear in Magistrates' Court on Friday.

Another 16-year-old male student, from Pembroke, will face charges in court on October 28 and a 17-year-old female student from Sandys Parish will go to court on October 9.

The two others, a 14-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy who are both from Pembroke, were ordered to report back to Hamilton Police Station on October 14 and 18, respectively.

"Government has invested a lot of money, put in a lot of effort, and we have got a significant commitment from the principal and teachers at CedarBridge,'' Ms Gordon said. "Those who don't want to learn need to be removed.

"We ask every parent to make sure that they realise that that facility is there for students to learn, '' she added. "We will not change our aim for a few.

"We cannot force children to learn, but we certainly can ensure that that environment is for children who do.'' 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 noted. "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, Education Minister Jerome Dill said.

A week's grace period had been given, Ms Gordon explained, to allow school officials time to prepare the list and also to warn parents.

"We have asked for a report to come to us by next week,'' she added. "After that Hamilton will be out of bounds. "I'm asking parents to ensure that their children go home after school.

"I believe that the welfare of this country is at stake. Our children are there (at CedarBridge) to learn and we have to ensure that the environment is there to serve them.'' Neither Ms Gordon nor Mr. Dill were prepared to disclose where the "alternative'' setting for disruptive students will be placed.

But Mr. Dill revealed that he was reviewing pending UK legislation which will require parents to "adequately supervise'' young people and ensure that they were home at a respectable time and accompanied to and from school.

"It is really time for us to take the old African proverb, `it takes a whole village to raise a child', to heart,'' he said.

"This cannot just be done by the principal and teachers. It's time for all of us to come to the wicket and do our part.''