NINE SCHOOLBOYS IN the US  suspected of participating in a so-called “fight club” have been expelled from their school in Washington state.

The sixth graders, who are all around 11-years-old, were expelled on Monday after a relative of one participant spoke to a television station about the alleged club.

The local station KCPQ-TV also aired a mobile phone video showing two kids fighting.

The fights are reported to have taken place in the Stewart Middle School in the city of Tacoma and in the participants homes. About 23 students in total were involved in the fights.

Some parents told the local television station that they were outraged over the expulsions because school authorities had not caught students fighting.

A Tacoma Public Schools spokesman said the school expelled the boys as of Monday.

When they can return will be determined on a case-by-case basis, with school officials factoring in the students’ disciplinary histories.

District officials have told school principals throughout Tacoma to be on the alert for similar clubs.

- additional reporting by AP