THE way 'difficult' pupils are dealt with in Worcestershire is to come under scrutiny after it was revealed some schools are being more tolerant than others.

A special task force is to be set up to look at how permanently excluded children are treated and where they go.

The current system is supposed to ensure that such youngsters are spread evenly between schools, but in reality several establishments are getting more than their fair share and are building up a bad reputation as a result.

Now the idea is to make sure schools only use expulsion as a last resort and they all treat bad behaviour in the same ways.

Councillor John Buckley, the chairman of the overview and scrutiny committee and the Labour leader of the county council, said: "The process at the moment of one school getting another's excluded pupil, is just not working. The whole area needs re-examining if we are to be fair to those ex-pupils and to the students who are not disruptive."

The tolerance levels of schools is at the heart of this and the cultures of the different schools. One school might exclude someone for something like persisting wearing of the wrong-length skirt, yet with another it might be something like threatening a teacher with a baseball bat.

"We want to encourage all schools to take their responsibilities and make sure expulsion is a last resort."

If they have spare places, schools have no option but to accept difficult children.

This can negatively affect average exam results and truancy figures. With other high schools in Worcester full, Elgar College of Technology, often has to bear the brunt.

Tony James, the head of the Bilford Avenue-based secondary school, welcomed the council's review.

He said: "I think any review of the process of admissions is good news. There have been discussions for some time about how schools deal with difficult children and it needs to be looked into."