SCHOOL bosses say they “make no apology” for having high expectations on behaviour after excluding around a dozen pupils on the same day.

It is understood a total of 12 students from the Clacton Coastal Academy were slapped with fixed term exclusions for what has been described as “aggressive behaviour and defiance”.

Unlike a permanent expulsion, a fixed term exclusion can last for one or more fixed periods but only up to a maximum of 45 days per academic year.

The new, no-nonsense approach adopted by the school follows a decision to revise “behaviour expectations”.

Dr David Moody, executive director of the Academy Enterprise Trust, has been drafted in to temporarily oversee rapid improvements.

The strict educator made headlines in 2018 as the principal of Harris Academy in Battersea, which had been considered to be one of the worst schools in the country.

But after Dr Moody banned pupils from shrugging, sighing and eye-rolling, the school’s fortunes turned around and it received an outstanding rating from Ofsted.

Bosses will be hoping his stringent approach will result in an equally successful outcome for Clacton Coastal Academy, after Ofsted ruled the school required improvement.

A spokesman said: “There were around a dozen fixed term exclusions on one day. We make no apology for having high expectations on behaviour.

“We have recently introduced a new behaviour policy as we want to see the highest standards of behaviour in lessons and around school.

“There is no reason why Clacton Coastal Academy should not have the best-behaved students in Essex, and the students and the community deserve nothing less.

“The vast majority of our students have responded really positively to the changes.

“A small number of students have fallen short of our expectations and we have issued exclusions for aggressive behaviour and defiance which will not be tolerated.

“We look forward to welcoming these students back but on the understanding that they will no longer interrupt the learning of others.”

But a concerned parent, whose child has been given one of the fixed term exclusions, believes the tougher approach will be counterproductive.

The mum said she has since decided to home-school her child.