Saltus headmaster Ted Staunton yesterday defended the school’s decision to expel eight students who were filmed beating up another boy.A 14-year-old student, who is understood to be the son of a Saltus board of trustees member, required treatment for injuries from “birthday punches” the practice of hitting someone, usually on the arm, for each year of their birthday.Mr Staunton said he called a special assembly yesterday to inform secondary students that “birthday punches” at Saltus was over, and that any student ignoring his instructions would lose their place at the school.In a letter sent out to Saltus parents, he said the December 16 incident at recess involved two year-11 boys and six year-ten boys who administered the punches to one of their peers.Mr Staunton said the incident got out of control with aggressive kneeing, punching and kicking. While the entire episode only took a few minutes, injuries were sustained by the victim.He was taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a fractured rib, moderate concussion and severe bruising to both arms.The headmaster pointed out that the school devoted a week in October to workshops about bullying and said the school has gone to “considerable lenths to state that the long standing tradition of ‘birthday punches’ and any other non-wanted physical contact will not be tolerated.”Police have investigated the incident, part of which was filmed by a Saltus student. A copy was then provided to the school. According to parents of the expelled students, four were expelled at the end of the December term, with four more expelled on Tuesday of this week.Mothers of two students, both of whom asked not to be named, nonetheless criticised the school’s response.One mother said her son had been friends with the victim since primary one, and that the school had made no effort to interview the boys or discuss its decision.Admitting “they made a big mistake”, she said: “Eight young boys have been made to sound like gang bangers.”She called birthday punches “a cultural ritual that children have been doing for years”.“The boy who sustained injuries has participated in the ritual as well in the past. My son called for his friend after he found out that he had to go to hospital.“He spoke to his mother and apologised for his actions. It was never an intent to hurt anyone.”She said she had been stunned to learn of her son’s expulsion. She also said she had seen the mobile phone clip, which she said was about 40 seconds long.“Nobody knows what happened before or after what was on the phone, but the school began to expel kids based on it. I saw a bunch of kids holding the boy and different kids punching him. I told my son it was too much, but I didn’t expect the school to expel.”She said she had been informed by phone on December 23, by deputy head Alexander White, that her son was not to come back to the school.“I wasn’t given any recourse. I emailed about three times asking for the courtesy of a face to face discussion about my son’s academic future.”She said her son had a clean record for ten years in Saltus. “I can’t vouch for all the kids who got expelled but at least six had no disciplinary issues before then. I told the headmaster these boys needed to sit down together and discuss what had happened. I just feel this could have been dealt with a lot better.”The mother said she had met with Mr Staunton on Tuesday.“I asked him if there was any recourse and he said no, that it was a private school and it was their decision to make. I said the boys had made a serious mistake and I talked about what’s been going on with the youth in Bermuda, but he told me he didn’t care what goes on outside the school.”She said: “People have been saying that Saltus is trying to get rid of teachers and students, so I do think that affected the situation. The boy who was hit is the son of a trustee, and I think that influenced their decision. They’ve said we have no recourse but I intend to appeal anyway.”Another parent whose son was expelled said:“They’re making it sound like birthday bumps are not allowed to happen, and they’re making these kids sound like gangster bullies. But it was just birthday bumps that went wrong.“I’m not trying to downplay the fact that a kid got hurt, but I think the school is being dishonest they didn’t tell the kids back in October that birthday bumps were not allowed.”She acknowledged that a student had been hurt but said: “Most parents are also upset by how they were dealt with. We got a phone call to say (the students) were terminated and we could bring them into the school to collect their things. We didn’t receive a letter from the school until December 31.”Mr Staunton provided The Royal Gazette with a copy of a letter sent yesterday to Saltus parents, but could not be reached due to meetings.