Expulsion, also known as dismissal, withdrawal, or permanent exclusion (
British English
British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...
), is the permanent removal or banning of a
student
A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution.
In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...
from a
school
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...
,
school district
A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations.
North America United States
In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...
,
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
or
university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
due to persistent violation of that institution's rules, or in extreme cases, for a single offense of marked severity. Colloquialisms for expulsion include being kicked out of school or sent down. Laws and procedures regarding expulsion vary between countries and states.
The practice of pressuring parents to voluntarily withdraw their child from an educational institution, termed
off-rolling in the UK, is comparable to expulsion. Rates of expulsion may be especially high for students of color, even when their behavioral infractions are the same as those of white children. Certain disabilities, such as autism and ADHD, also increases the risk of expulsion, despite the fact that this constitutes unlawful discrimination in many jurisdictions.
By country
Ireland
In
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, a school must notify the local Educational Welfare Officer before expelling a student; they will then try and find a solution. The student cannot be expelled until twenty days after the educational welfare officer has been notified. Under Section 29 of the
Education Act 1998 an expelled child's parent(s) may appeal an expulsion to the Secretary General of the
Department of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
. The
Child and Family Agency
The Child and Family Agency ( ga, An Ghníomhaireacht um Leanaí agus an Teaghlach), known as Tusla, is an independent Republic of Ireland, Irish agency created by the Child and Family Agency Act 2013 and answerable to the Minister for Children ...
(Tusla) may also appeal an expulsion. If the department upholds the expulsion, a further appeal can be brought to the
High Court.
In 2017–18, 29 primary school pupils were expelled in Ireland, up from 18 the previous year. In 2015–16, 195 secondary school students were expelled.
New Zealand
In New Zealand, exclusion and expulsion are methods for removing a student from a school for misconduct. Both are governed by sections 13 to 19 of the Education Act 1989, and the Education Stand Down, Suspension, Exclusion, and Expulsion Rules 1999.
The difference between exclusion and expulsion is that students aged under 16 are excluded, while students aged 16 and over are expelled. For students excluded, because they are under the minimum
school leaving age
The school leaving age is the minimum age a person is legally allowed to cease attendance at an institute of compulsory secondary education. Most countries have their school leaving age set the same as their minimum full-time employment age, thu ...
, the excluding school is required to find an alternative school for the student to attend, or reinstate the student if another school cannot be found. For students that are expelled, the expelling school is not required to find an alternative school, as the student is over the minimum school leaving age.
Exclusion/expulsion cannot be directly done by the principal. It must be done through
suspending the student, and requiring the school's
board of trustees
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
, or a standing disciplinary committee of the board, to independently assess whether or not the situation is serious enough to justify exclusion or expulsion of the student.
In 2009, exclusions and expulsions rates were 2.41 and 2.01 per thousand students respectively. Students were more likely to be excluded or expelled if they were male, of Maori or Pacific Island descent, and/or attended a school with a low (1-4)
socioeconomic decile
In the New Zealand education system, decile is a key measure of socioeconomic status used to target funding and support schools. In academic contexts the full term "socioeconomic decile" or "socioeconomic decile band" may be used.
A school's dec ...
.
The most common reasons for exclusions and expulsions in 2009 were:
* Continual disobedience – 41.2% of exclusions/25.3% of expulsions
* Drugs incl. substance abuse – 14.2%/25.8%
* Physical assault on other students – 17.3%/16.8%
* Theft – 4.4%/8.9%
* Verbal assault on staff – 5.0%/2.6%
* Physical assault on staff – 4.5%/1.6%
* Weapons – 2.5%/2.6%
* Vandalism – 1.3%/2.6%
* Alcohol – 1.0%/3.7%
* Verbal assault on other students – 1.1%/0.5%
Arson, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, and smoking were the other main reasons for exclusion and expulsion recorded.
United Kingdom
State sector
If a student has been expelled from two schools, then any state school is legally allowed to refuse admittance of that student. Schools on
special measures
Special measures is a status applied by regulators of public services in Britain to providers who fall short of acceptable standards.
In education (England and Wales)
Ofsted, the schools inspection agency for England and some British Overseas Ter ...
may refuse to admit a student who has been expelled from only one school. Therefore, a student who has been expelled from two schools might be totally removed from the state education system. As a result, it is rare for a pupil to be expelled or ''permanently excluded'' in the UK's state sector.
The exclusion of pupils is governed by the
Education Act 2002
The Education Act 2002 (c.32) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that gave schools greater autonomy to implement experimental teaching methods.
Main provisions
The act significantly amended legislation relating to academies, publ ...
.
The Secretary of State's guidance states that exclusion is a serious step. Exclusion should be used only in response to serious breaches of a school's discipline
Discipline refers to rule following behavior, to regulate, order, control and authority. It may also refer to punishment. Discipline is used to create habits, routines, and automatic mechanisms such as blind obedience. It may be inflicted on ot ...
policy and only after a range of alternative strategies to resolve the pupil's disciplinary problems have been tried and proven to have failed and where allowing the pupil to remain in school would be seriously detrimental to the education or welfare of other pupils and staff, or of the pupil himself or herself.
In practice, a student can usually be subject to permanent exclusion for a total of five disciplinary breaches, for which the student does not have to receive formal warnings. Depending on his or her offence, a child can be excluded from the school system within any range of time after his or her misdeed. Though the teaching staff may recommend a pupil to be expelled, only the
headteacher
A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the teacher, staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school ...
is legally empowered to exclude a student; he or she is not permitted to delegate that power to another person, but if he or she is ill or otherwise unable to perform his or her duties, another staff member may become the acting headteacher and inherit the power to expel students.
When excluding a student, the headteacher must inform the pupil's parents of the duration of the exclusion whether it be temporary or permanent, reasons for exclusion, and the procedures which a parent may take to make an
appeal
In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...
. The headteacher must also inform the
local education authority
Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...
of the circumstances surrounding permanent exclusions, fixed term exclusions exceeding five days, and exclusions which result in a student being unable to take a public
examination.
=Reasons for permanent exclusion
=
A headteacher might expel a student out for a first or one-off incident of appropriate severity.
[''Improving Behaviour And Attendance Guidance On Exclusion From Schools and Pupil Referral Units'', DCSF. September 2008. .] For a single case of one of the following, a pupil can be permanently excluded for:
* A serious act of violence, including actual or threatened violence against a staff member or another student
* Possession of a weapon or any other hazardous item
* A sexual offence, including
sexual abuse
Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...
and
assault
An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...
* A
racially-aggravated offence
The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (c.37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act was published on 2 December 1997 and received Royal Assent in July 1998. Its key areas were the introduction of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, Sex ...
* Severe
hazing
Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...
of another student
* A
drug
A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...
offence, usually the supply of a controlled drug to other pupils. Possession of a small amount of a
soft drug such as
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
or
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...
is not normally considered sufficient grounds for expulsion
*
Computer hacking
A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...
If a student has previous disciplinary records of violating other school rules and regulations, that too could result in expulsion. In these cases, expulsion is used as a final resort if the student has shown no signs of improvement in his or her behaviour despite disciplinary measures, and has failed to respond to a final warning. Some offences which may result in expulsion when repeated persistently include, but is not limited to:
* Defiance and rebellion against authority
*
Vandalism
Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property.
The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...
*
Bullying
Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an imba ...
*
Lying
A lie is an assertion that is believed to be false, typically used with the purpose of deception, deceiving or Deception, misleading someone. The practice of communicating lies is called lying. A person who communicates a lie may be termed a l ...
*
Cheating
Cheating generally describes various actions designed to subvert rules in order to obtain unfair advantages. This includes acts of bribery, cronyism and nepotism in any situation where individuals are given preference using inappropriate cr ...
(including
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...
)
*
Stealing
*
Harassment
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates or embarrasses a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and moral ...
*
False alarm
A false alarm, also called a nuisance alarm, is the deceptive or erroneous report of an emergency, causing unnecessary panic and/or bringing resources (such as emergency services) to a place where they are not needed. False alarms may occur with ...
, setting off a fire alarm when there is no fire or
prank calling
A prank call (also known as a crank call) is a telephone call intended by the caller as a practical joke played on the person answering. It is often a type of nuisance call. It can be illegal under certain circumstances.
Recordings of prank p ...
999 (the British emergency hotline)
*
Gambling
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...
*
Terroristic threat A terroristic threat is a threat to commit a crime of violence or a threat to cause bodily injury to another person and terrorization as the result of the proscribed conduct. Several U.S. states have enacted state law, statutes which impose criminal ...
*
Discrimination
Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...
Pupils who have done nothing wrong to merit expulsion are sometimes expelled if the school does not expect them to achieve sufficiently high grades in external examinations. This illegal policy is known as "off-rolling", and seriously harms the life chances of young people.
=Appeals
=
The pupil and his or her parents can appeal to the
school governors
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, school governors are the overseers of a school. In state schools, they have three main functions:
*Giving the school a clear vision, ethos and strategic direction
*Holding the headteacher to account for the ...
against the expulsion. If the appeal fails to reinstate the pupil, a further appeal can be made to an appeals board which sits on the behalf of the local education authority.
Appeals to the governors
The parents of an excluded pupil are entitled to appeal against expulsion or an exclusion exceeding five days to a panel of school governors acting as a court.
The panel, which consists of parents and staff and cannot include the headteacher, is not legally able to exclude a pupil or extend a term of exclusion; but it can convert a permanent exclusion to a fixed term one, reduce the length of a fixed-term exclusion, or cancel an exclusion.
The appeal must occur no sooner than six days after and no more than 15 days after the exclusion begins. The panel considers oral, written, or physical
evidence
Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field.
In epistemology, evidenc ...
from the school detailing the case for expulsion, and from the parents of the excluded pupil. The pupil and his or her parents may argue that the excluded pupil was not responsible for the act for which he or she has been excluded, or that the punishment was disproportionate to the offence.
Appeal to the local education authority
If the appeal to the governors is unsuccessful, an expelled or excluded student and his or her parents may go to an appeals board. This panel, which is appointed by the local education authority, must be
autonomous
In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...
of the authority, the school, and the parents of the excluded student.
The majority of the appeals that these panels hear are not against exclusions, but are for the admission of pupils into schools. Although the local education authority are in theory obligated to provide education to a pupil under school leaving age Year 11 and below, in practice usually when the pupil is denied access to other schools or the pupil referral unit the local education authority employs techniques such as appointing a single tutor for one lesson a week.
=Legal advice and representation
=
There are a number of projects that provide free legal representation to pupils who are appealing against their permanent exclusions from school. The institution cited in letters detailing the reasons for permanent exclusions is the
Coram Children's Legal Centre
Coram Children's Legal Centre (CCLC) is a UK charity founded in 1981 that works to promote children's rights both in the UK and abroad. The CCLC is funded by grants from central government, UNICEF, and charitable trusts, and donations. Coram Chil ...
.
There are voluntary groups who provide trainee lawyers to represent parents at both governing body appeals and independent appeal panels. The City Matrix Chambers School Exclusions Project is one such project.
Independent sector
In the
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
sector, a pupil may be permanently excluded at the discretion of the headteacher.
=Distinction between expulsion and rustication
=
Whereas expulsion from a UK independent school means permanent removal from the school,
rustication or suspension usually means removal from the school for a set period, for example, the remainder of the current term.
Managed moves
In 1999, protocols were introduced to reduce the amount of permanent exclusions every year. This involved a process called a ‘managed move’ where schools had the option to transfer a student to another school without a permanent exclusion being written on their record. It is usually done on a trial basis where the child can spend 6 to 16 weeks at the new school before integrating. If nothing occurs in between the trial period, the managed move is considered successful.
United States
Expulsion in general
In the United States, expulsion criteria and process vary from state to state or province. Depending on local school board jurisdiction, approval from that school's local school board may be required before a student can be expelled, as opposed to a
suspension
Suspension or suspended may refer to:
Science and engineering
* Suspension (topology), in mathematics
* Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics
* Suspension of a ring, in mathematics
* Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspend ...
, which may require approval from the principal or a school board member, including the superintendent. Students who have been expelled from the school face numerous restrictions, in which they are no longer eligible to attend or visit the school. Like an out-of-school suspension, students who breach an expulsion, which includes visiting the school they have been expelled from, or perform or attend any activity with any students or staff who are active with the school, will be
arrest
An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be questi ...
ed for, and
charged with
trespassing
Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land.
Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, ...
. Students are usually not expelled for academic violations such as
plagiarism
Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...
that would be punishable in college. However, in some jurisdictions such as
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, vulgarity which is not defined anywhere within California law is enough of a reason for a student to be expelled from any school. ''(Note: California statute has been indirectly invalidated by the Supreme Court in
FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. (2012)
''Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations, Inc.'', 567 U.S. 239 (2012), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States regarding whether the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's scheme for regulating speech is V ...
.)''
Pupil rights
While in the
Criminal
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
or
Juvenile Justice
A juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes that are committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal s ...
one has enumerated and unenumerated rights upon accusation, pupils do not have such rights when within an expulsion process. For example, in California, pupils have the following rights:
*Have an expulsion hearing within 30 school days
*To appeal the results of an expulsion hearing
*To
remain silent
''Remain Silent'' () is a 2019 Chinese crime drama film directed and written by Zhou Ke, and starring Zhou Xun, Francis Ng and Zu Feng. It was released on August 23, 2019.
Synopsis
Wan Wenfang ( Zhou Xun) was assassinated in Hong Kong during ...
However, there are rights that pupils do not have during the expulsion process that they would have in a court of law:
*An attorney
at no cost to the pupil
*To
cross examine any witness
*For the hearing to be heard by an independent party
*The
presumption of innocence
The presumption of innocence is a legal principle that every person accused of any crime is considered innocent until proven guilty. Under the presumption of innocence, the legal burden of proof is thus on the prosecution, which must present com ...
*To be found guilty only when the consensus is
beyond a reasonable doubt
Beyond a reasonable doubt is a legal standard of proof required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems. It is a higher standard of proof than the balance of probabilities standard commonly used in civil cases, beca ...
*Protection from
double jeopardy
In jurisprudence, double jeopardy is a procedural defence (primarily in common law jurisdictions) that prevents an accused person from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges following an acquittal or conviction and in rare case ...
Expulsion rates
A 2001 report from Justice Policy Institute showed that expulsions nearly doubled from 1974 to 1998 despite student victimization rates remaining stable. Beginning with the
Gun-Free School Zones Act
The Gun-Free School Zones Act (GFSZA) is an act of the U.S. Congress prohibiting any unauthorized individual from knowingly possessing a loaded or unsecured firearm at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is ...
, and following the
Columbine shooting tragedy, schools have become increasingly willing to suspend or have expelled students for minor behavior offenses.
For example, in Maryland during the 2006-2007 school year, while 2% of suspensions were for weapons, 37% were for disrespect, insubordination, or disruption.
The Task Force on the Education of Maryland’s American Males noted that high suspension and expulsion rates do little more than increase court referrals for minor misbehavior, and those actions put a child on the path toward delinquency or accelerates his journey there. These policies are more generally known as
zero tolerance
A zero tolerance policy is one which imposes a punishment for every infraction of a stated rule.zero tolerance, n.' (under ''zero, n.''). The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Ed. 1989. Retrieved 10 November 2009. Italy, Japan, Singapore China, Indi ...
.
Students who have been expelled from a building in primary and secondary schools are given an option to attend class at an alternate location.
Alternative school
An alternative school is an educational establishment with a curriculum and methods that are nontraditional. Such schools offer a wide range of philosophies and teaching methods; some have strong political, scholarly, or philosophical orientati ...
s are usually owned by the expelling school district for expelled students to have the option to attend daily lessons. Students have other options, such as
homeschooling
Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...
, boarding schools, private schools, and online courses, such as
APEX
The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to:
Arts and media Fictional entities
* Apex (comics), a teenaged super villainess in the Marvel Universe
* Ape-X, a super-intelligent ape in the Squadron Supreme universe
*Apex, ...
or
K-12
K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993, well known worldwide mainly for its heavyweight division fights and Grand Prix tournaments. In January 2012, K-1 Global Holdings Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong, acquired ...
. In some states, such as Wisconsin, other public school districts are not required to enroll students who are currently serving a term of expulsion. In some cases, such as permanent expulsion from a district, this type of statutory authority can have the effect of displacing an expelled student from the public education system of an entire state, effectively ending their educational career. When it comes to student discipline, there is a marked difference in procedure between public and private institutions. With public schools, the school must provide the student with constitutional due process protections as public educational institutions operate as an extension of state governments. With private schools, on the other hand, the student can be expelled for any reason so long as the expulsion was not “arbitrary and capricious". Generally, as long as a private school follows the procedures in its student handbook, a court will not view its actions as arbitrary and capricious.
Some states, like Texas, report expulsion to the
juvenile court
A juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes that are committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal s ...
system - the model in Texas was passed in 1995.
Notable expellees
Many celebrities claim to have been expelled from school; however, some may be exaggerating in order to portray a rebellious image, and they may merely have voluntarily withdrawn from a school rather than being formally expelled. For example, some accounts claim that
Ryan Gosling was expelled from school for throwing knives at fellow students, when in fact he was suspended from school and
homeschooled
Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...
for a year. Similarly, some accounts claim that
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields.
Branson expressed ...
was expelled from
Scaitcliffe
Scaitcliffe was a prep school for boys aged 6–13 in Egham, Surrey. Founded in 1896, it was both a boarding and day school. After merging with Virginia Water Prep School in 1996, the school is now co-educational and known as Bishopsgate School ...
, supposedly for seducing the headmaster's daughter, but other accounts say he was "nearly expelled." It is sometimes claimed that
Willem Dafoe
Willem James Dafoe (; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Willem Dafoe, various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, in addition to receiving nominations for ...
was expelled from
Appleton East High School for making pornography, although he actually
dropped out
Dropping out refers to leaving high school, college, university or another group for practical reasons, necessities, inability, apathy, or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves.
Canada
In Canada, most ind ...
when a film he was editing containing nudity was found in the school AV room.
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz.
A membe ...
claimed that she was expelled from the
Sylvia Young Theatre School
Sylvia Young Theatre School is an independent school in Marble Arch, London, England. It is a specialist performing arts school named after its founder and principal, Sylvia Young OBE.
Outline
The Sylvia Young Theatre School was founded in ...
, but this was refuted by her old school and by her father. It is also claimed that
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...
was expelled from the
BRIT School
The BRIT School is a British performing and creative arts school located in Selhurst, Croydon, England, with a mandate to provide education and vocational training for the performing arts, music, music technology, theatre, musical theatre, dan ...
for fighting a fellow student when they disagreed about the merits of
Gareth Gates
Gareth Paul Gates (born 12 July 1984) is an English singer-songwriter and actor. He was the runner-up in the first series of the ITV talent show ''Pop Idol'' in 2002. As of 2008, Gates had sold over 3.5 million records in the UK. He is ...
and
Will Young
William Robert Young (born 20 January 1979) is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominence after winning the 2002 Pop Idol (series 1), inaugural series of the ITV (TV network), ITV talent contest ''Pop Idol'', making him the f ...
, but other interviews say she was suspended and "nearly expelled." The singer
Cheryl
Cheryl is a female given name common in English speaking countries.
There are several prevailing theories about its etymology. The most common is that it has Italo-Celtic roots and is an Anglicised version of either the French name Cherie (from ...
is another; some articles say she was expelled from school twice, others that she was merely suspended twice.
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (; born ) is an American business magnate, internet entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is known for co-founding the social media website Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook, Inc.), o ...
was almost expelled from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
while creating
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
's prototype, FaceMash.com; he was charged with breach of security, violating copyrights, and violating individual privacy, as well as violation of University policy on distribution of digitized images. However, those charges were dropped.
*
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...
(Curtis Jackson), expelled from
Andrew Jackson High School (Queens)
Andrew Jackson High School is a defunct comprehensive high school in the Cambria Heights section in southeastern Queens, New York. The school was opened in 1937, and named after former United States President Andrew Jackson. However, the city c ...
for
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
possession
*
Jon Bon Jovi
John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...
, expelled for hitting a female fellow-student
*
Liam Brady
William Brady (born 13 February 1956) is an Irish former footballer. He found success both in England with Arsenal, where he won an FA Cup in 1979, and in Italy with Juventus, winning two Serie A titles. Brady was capped 72 times for the Irelan ...
; claimed to have been expelled for missing a school
Gaelic football
Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
match to play a schoolboy
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
international, but his school denied this
*
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...
, expelled from
Libertyville High School for riding his motorcycle through the corridors
*
Jackie Collins
Jacqueline Jill Collins (4 October 1937 – 19 September 2015) was an English romance novelist and actress. She moved to Los Angeles in 1985 and spent most of her career there. She wrote 32 novels, all of which appeared on ''The New York Time ...
, expelled from
Francis Holland School
Francis Holland School is the name of two separate private day schools for girls in central London, England, governed by the Francis Holland (Church of England) Schools Trust. The schools are located at Clarence Gate (near Regent's Park NW1) ...
for truancy and smoking; she then threw her
school uniform
A school uniform is a uniform worn by students primarily for a school or otherwise an educational institution.They are common in primary and secondary schools in various countries.
An example of a uniform would be requiring button-down shir ...
into the
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
*
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...
, expelled from
Uppingham School
Uppingham School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils 13-18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. The headma ...
*
Cary Grant
Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...
, got himself expelled from
Fairfield Grammar School
Fairfield Grammar School was a secondary school in Bristol, England, founded in 1898 as Fairfield Secondary and Higher Grade School. It became a grammar school in 1945 and closed in 2000, to be replaced by a new comprehensive, Fairfield High Sc ...
deliberately so that he could become an actor
*
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mich ...
, wrongly excluded from
The John Henry Newman School
The Saint John Henry Newman School is a Roman Catholic secondary school with academy status in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. In its most recent Ofsted inspection it was classed as a good school and the diocesan report, assessing qua ...
when he was identified as being among a group of boys that attacked a fellow student; he appealed and was re-admitted
*
Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek Pinault ( , ; born Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez; September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well as the ...
, expelled from boarding school for playing pranks
*
Courtney Love
Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as ...
, claimed to have been expelled from
Nelson College for Girls
, motto_translation = Loyalty, honesty and wisdom
, type = State secondary, day and boarding
, established = 1883; years ago
, address = Trafalgar St
, city = Nels ...
for truancy and smoking
*
Robert Pattinson, expelled for selling pornographic magazines at school
*
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in '' Youngblood'' (1986). ...
, expelled from the
Etobicoke School of the Arts
The Etobicoke School of the Arts (ESA) is a specialized public arts-academic high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located in Etobicoke, it has been housed in the former Royal York Collegiate Institute facility since 1983. Founded on September ...
*
Guy Ritchie
Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter. His work includes British gangster films, and the ''Sherlock Holmes'' films starring Robert Downey Jr.
Ritchie left school at age 15 and wor ...
, expelled from
Stanbridge Earls School for "cutting class and entertaining a girl in his room"
*
John Lydon
John Joseph Lydon (; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the late-1970s punk band the Sex Pistols, which lasted from 1975 until 1978, and aga ...
, expelled for having long hair and for his antisocial behaviour
*
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...
, expelled from
The Barlow Roman Catholic High School
The Barlow RC High School is a comprehensive school in Didsbury, Manchester, England.
The school is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford, maintained by the Education Authority. The parish communities served by the school are St Ambrose, ...
for throwing a bag of flour at a teacher
*
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Platoon'' (1986), ''Wall Street'' (1987), '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' The Rookie'' (1990), ''The Thr ...
, expelled from
Santa Monica High School
Santa Monica High School, officially abbreviated to SaMoHi, is located in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1891, it changed location several times in its early years before settling into its present campus at 601 Pico Boulevard. It is a part o ...
for truancy and poor grades
*
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
, expelled from A. J. Demarest High School for "general rowdiness"
*
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...
(Calvin Broadus), claimed to have been expelled from Cleveland Elementary School for gifted children for flashing a female pupil
*
Owen Wilson
Owen Cunningham Wilson (born November 18, 1968) is an American actor. He has had a long association with filmmaker Wes Anderson with whom he shared writing and acting credits for '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), and '' The Royal ...
, expelled from the elite prep school
St. Mark's School of Texas
The St. Mark's School of Texas is a nonsectarian preparatory day school for boys in grades 1–12 in Dallas, Texas, United States, accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest.
History
St. Mark's traces its origins to the T ...
*
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...
, expelled for throwing a chair at his teacher, who he said had "disrespected" him
*
Benjamin Zephaniah
Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (born 15 April 1958)Gregory, Andy (2002), ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa, p. 562. . is a British writer and dub poet. He was included in ''The Times'' list of Britain's top 50 post-wa ...
*
Banksy
Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive epigram ...
*
Willem Dafoe
Willem James Dafoe (; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Willem Dafoe, various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, in addition to receiving nominations for ...
, expelled from high school for making a pornographic short film
*
Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B.
D ...
See also
*
Rustication (academia)
*
Dishonorable discharge
A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...
*
School dropouts in Latin America
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Expulsion (Academia)
School punishments