THE number of children expelled from schools in Bolton has dropped despite a national rise in the figures for the first time since Labour came to power.

Last year, 81 pupils were excluded from schools in the town but this figure has been almost halved to 49 this year.

As there are still seven weeks until the end of term, the Bolton figure is expected to rise to the mid-50s but it is still significantly lower than the national average of 80 youngsters per Local Education Authority.

Education Secretary Estelle Morris has adopted a harder line on school discipline in recent months and has removed the restrictions on headteachers which saw the exclusion rate plummet from its peak in 1996/97 of 12,700 nationally.

Until this year, Bolton's exclusion figures had mirrored national statistics -- which have varied depending on the stance taken by the Government.

The year after Labour came to power in 1997, there were 95 permanent exclusions in Bolton but in 1999/2000 the figure had dropped to just 49 following a big push from the Government to keep unruly children in school wherever possible and setting reduction targets for the LEAs.

However, in 2000/2001 the targets were removed following demands from teaching unions and heads who wanted more power to kick-out disruptive pupils and Bolton's figures had jumped again in line with national figures to 81.

But education chiefs claim that the most recent reduction in Bolton's figures is proof that the large number of innovative schemes being used to help pupils on the verge of being excluded, or who have already been excluded, are working.