Crossword Genius

Kick out former pupil behind a fair amount of the nuisance (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

expel

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'kick out' is the definition.
('expel' can be a synonym of 'kick out')

'former pupil behind a fair amount of the nuisance' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'former' could be 'ex' and 'ex' is found within the answer.
'pupil' could be 'l' and 'l' is found within the answer.
'amount' could be 'e' (e is a kind of amount) and 'e' is present in the answer.
A single letter 'p' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for expel that I've seen before include "Spew" , "Deport" , "Drive out, banish" , "Evict" , "Oust" .)

I've seen this clue in the Irish Times (Crosaire) and the Irish Times.
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