Here, in AU, the alternative school thing is , overwhelmingly geared to the misfit, the one who wont go to regular school and can't be trusted to wander the streets at whim and at will. Not that there seems to be any kind of force involved in making the child get off to school, but it does tend to keep some of them occupied.
It is, basically, babysitting for an older crew. That they didn't get along at high school has all the elements to not get along at 'alternative ' school, except , every one isn't 'getting along'.
The hours of schooling are usually shorter, and less number of days attendance is required. There seems to be a lot of 'excursions'. Is it the same there in Port Alberni?..
While I gather Port Alberni isn't a big population, it must have a reasonable amount of kids opting out to maintain an alternative school as well as the regular one, is this how it goes?