THREE students have been excluded and up to 80 face detentions after a mass protest by pupils against a controversial tutor group system change at Basingstoke's biggest secondary school.

As exclusively reported in the Gazette on Monday, May 15, scores of pupils at Brighton Hill Community College, in Brighton Way, showed their objection to the radical shake-up by staying out of lessons on Friday, May 12.

At least 150 pupils were involved in the protests, which saw pupils gather on the school field and refuse to return to class after the morning and lunch breaks.

While the pupils were allowed to continue with their protest under supervision, three students have since been excluded and up to 80 will be punished with detentions.

The protests were staged against a system called vertical tutoring, which would see tutor groups comprise pupils from each year group rather than the same year. Brighton Hill - which has 1,282 pupils - is set to become the first school in Basingstoke to introduce the new regime for the daily 30-minute tutor sessions.

On Friday, May 12, headteacher David Eyre - who has masterminded the tutor group change - said the shake-up was "not a done deal", and that he still wants people to have their say. However, this week he said he is determined to implement the new system from September.

Mr Eyre said: "The decision is made now. A school must be run and organised by the headteacher. If, when we go ahead, we feel it is not working, we can go back.

"But we genuinely believe we have got the right solution here. I do not want to feel that because people say they don't like it for any reason, we can't do it.

"If we follow that way of thinking, what happens next - people don't want to wear uniform or have Saturday morning detention?"

Mr Eyre is advocating the new system - which will see 10 tutor groups form a community, with the school having six communities - on the grounds that it will help create a more family atmosphere, improve relations between year groups and boost peer mentoring.

Assemblies were held on the Monday morning after the protest, at which students were told to put their views forward in writing by June 16. The school is also considering holding another event for parents to discuss the new system.

Mr Eyre said: "It's been extremely quiet this week compared with last Friday. Nobody has been out of lessons and it's been much more positive. No one was proud of what happened on Friday.

"People who took advantage of the situation on Friday and missed lessons will be served with a detention - about 80 pupils were out of lessons, but we are still checking exactly who.

"Three students have been excluded, but not just as a result of Friday. They were involved in open defiance and verbal abuse of staff and two of them were on their final warning following other issues. It was the last straw for them to incite others and start swearing at staff."

Some parents of pupils at the school have contacted The Gazette to express their concerns about the new tutor system.

A parent of a Year 9 student, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "My child is not happy with this and feels it will mean pupils will end up in their own little groups with those of the same age. If the children are not happy to go to their tutor group and are not enjoying it, it will be quite sad."

If you have a view on this issue, write to The Letters Editor, Gazette Newspapers, Gazette House, Pelton Road, Basingstoke, RG21 6YD or e-mail editor@basingstokegazette.co.uk