When a child is excluded from school, it can be the start of a slippery slope into petty crime, unemployment and the waste of a young life.

Exclusion is the last straw when youngsters are disruptive and rude.

But in the mid-Nineties, the numbers of pupils excluded from schools across West Sussex soared from 100 in 1993 to 194 in 1998.

Now a scheme is in place that aims to nip anti-social antics in the bud.

This means helping pupils control their anger, building their self esteem and working on the underlying causes of their behaviour.

The strategy has proved effective, bringing the numbers down to 132 exclusions in the past year.