Two Warwick Secondary students yesterday heard that they could be whipped if convicted of assaulting a teacher.

The male students, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, appeared in Juvenile Court in connection with an attack on Warwick Secondary teacher Victor Coggin.

The 15-year-old denied unlawfully assaulting Mr. Coggin on January 3 and doing him bodily harm in Warwick.

Represented by lawyer Victoria Pearman, he also pleaded not guilty to -- being concerned together with another person -- unlawfully assaulting Mr. Coggin and doing him bodily harm on March 4 in Warwick.

And his 13-year-old schoolmate, who was not represented, denied committing the same offence on that date.

Mr. Hodgson adjourned the matter for mention on April 16 to allow the younger boy's father, who was in court, time to secure legal representation.

The 15-year-old, who appeared in court with his mother, was released on the same bail set earlier by Police.

Before adjourning the case, Mr. Hodgson told the youngsters if they were convicted the court was bound under section 16 of the Young Offenders Act 1950 -- which was revised in 1989 -- to deal with them in a number of ways.

He said it could make an order for the absolute or conditional discharge of the child. The latter means that if the child committed another offence during the course of a year, they would be sentenced for both offences.

Mr. Hodgson also pointed out that if the offence was punishable with imprisonment, the court could order probation or commit the child to a residential care facility.

And Mr. Hodgson told the youths "to disabuse notions that seem to be commonly abroad in the community'' that the court could not sentence a male child to be whipped, if the offence was punishable by imprisonment.

EDUCATION ED