First fight I had in school the head decided the best punishment was to make me stand in the entrance hall with buckets of sand. Wasn't allowed to put them down for an hour then when your hands start to hurt they give you lines to do. I didn't want to do the lines so I asked to hold the buckets for longer. Fuck, if looks could kill.
As for martial arts in schools it's a waste of time. I only say that because at my school I only had PE two hours in a two week time table. They would have to discipline each child to practice at home each night. We was taught but no one was really interested.
It's relatively cheap to put a child into a martial arts club anyway, even if your local club's expensive you know the child is that little bit safer on the streets.