Head teacher Bernadette Doherty tells the BBC why she believes society as a whole must sit up and take note.

The head teacher of Wharrier Street Primary School in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Bernadette Doherty, has been in the news this week, but for all the wrong reasons - the behaviour of a minority of her pupils.

Last week she permanently excluded an 11-year-old girl for hitting the deputy head teacher in the face, causing facial bruising.

It just seems to be so natural for children to respond to a particular situation of conflict with aggression

Bernadette Doherty

And this week, she expelled a further 13 pupils who had refused to behave despite warning letters being sent to their parents earlier this month.

Mrs Doherty believes much can be explained by the message the outside world is giving to children.

"I think there's a culture - you just have to look at some of the programmes on television that the children have access to," says Mrs Doherty.

"I hate to pick programmes out, but, you know, programmes like EastEnders, there's an awful lot of aggression.

"It just seems to be so natural for children to respond to a particular situation of conflict with aggression."

Conflict management

As a result, she says, schools are having to teach pupils how to manage conflict situations.

"What we try to do in Wharrier Street Primary School - an I know hundred of other schools are doing it - is to try and get children to resolve problems through peaceful means."

But Mrs Doherty says schools have got a hard task on their hands.

"You're battling against a culture that says its soft not to hit back - 'Get in there and give them a taste of their own medicine'.

"So we're battling against that culture."

Mrs Doherty does not personally agree with exclusions, but says there comes a point where, for the greater good of the majority, a pupil must be taken out of school.