Five Berkeley Institute students were suspended yesterday after a teacher and former Bermuda cricket captain was punched in the face during a disturbance at the school.

And the school will be holding further inquiries into the brawl this morning to see if further disciplinary action is needed when teachers will address all students at assembly.

Physical education teacher Arnold Manders (pictured) was taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for stitches to his tongue after he was punched in the face by a student during the lunchtime bust-up.

The row happened after an irate parent came to the school following an incident involving a student. There were allegations that a security officer slapped a student, but teachers at the school dispute this, said chief education officer Dr. Joseph Christopher last night.

When the parent continued arguing with security staff, Police were called shortly after 1 p.m. and a student punched Mr. Manders, a former Bermuda cricket captain.

?There was an incident with a student this afternoon. His parent came to the school to check into it,? said Dr. Christopher.

?There was some dispute when he came to the school. The parent did not want to abide by what the security staff were saying and the Police were called.

?That got the students who were out of their class a bit excited and one of the students did hit a staff member, who went to the hospital, but he is well.

?The teachers were debriefed at the end of the day by the administrative staff and there will be a meeting of all the students again in the assembly when they will go through the process of dealing with those students who were misbehaving.

?We look at it very seriously. We don?t expect it to happen in the first place, but if it does there will be serious consequences for any student assaulting a teacher.?

Dr. Christopher said four or five students were suspended yesterday. He said the student who punched Mr. Manders was not the same one involved in the original dispute which prompted his parent to come to the school.

Mr. Manders, who plays for Western Stars, suffered a further mishap last year when he broke a wrist making his debut in harness racing.

Last night, he said he did not want to comment on the incident.