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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Five expelled for drugs at top school
Cambridge Evening News
Tuesday 07 Feb 2006 FIVE students have been expelled from a top Cambridgeshire school after pupils were caught smoking cannabis at a school disco. The teenagers were excluded for bringing drugs into The King's School Ely, while three more who admitted smoking cannabis on school premises have been suspended. A probe into drug use at the oldest independent school in East Anglia began after a fight broke out between two boys at a disco on Thursday night. About 20 pupils from Years 10 and 11, aged 14-16, were questioned by teachers over two days after allegations of drug abuse among students were made. Some cannabis was seized and later destroyed after consultation with police. King's stands in the shadow of Ely Cathedral with fees for day pupils as high as £13,410 per year and borders £19,410 per year. In a letter to parents headteacher Sue Freestone, said: "At King's we work to convey the dangers of consuming illegal substances. "Furthermore, on a sprawling campus such as ours we have to be able to trust our pupils to behave responsibly and never commit acts that bring the school into disrepute. "It is a source of great sadness to the whole community the trust we have placed in these individuals has been betrayed." She has also told suspended pupils they will only be allowed to return to school after they sign a contract which states any further drug abuse will result in their permanent exclusion. The Year 11 pupils who have been excluded will be allowed to return to school to take their GCSE exams but will be supervised at all times while they are in school. One 16-year-old GCSE pupil who admitted smoking cannabis with his school friends, said: "I have been very stupid and I have got noone to blame but myself. But I do think a slap on the wrist might have been more appropriate. "I was never a bad kid and I would never do anything harder because it would break my mum's heart." A parent of one of the pupils questioned has lashed out at what she describes as a "witch-hunt" and wants pupils who have been excluded to be reinstated. She said: "The school seems to have discovered, in the general furore, tiny quantities of cannabis had occasionally changed hands on school premises. "While I don't condone drug taking, in my opinion the heads of school have completely overreacted to the situation. "They are not dealing with hardened drug pushers here, but merely a handful of kids who are acting like normal teenagers and trying the odd drink, cigarette or perhaps something slightly more exotic." The mother, who did not wish to be named, said: "Of course the ringleaders should be given a stern talking to and cautioned but there is no need to deploy tactics reminiscent of the Spanish Inquisition in bringing those pupils to book." But Mrs Freestone believes the school's drugs policy is clear and it was right the pupils had to face the "very serious" consequences. She said: "It is of paramount importance other members of the school, particularly younger, impressionable pupils, be protected and allowed to enjoy their education in a safe, secure environment." Insp Adam Gallop, Cambridgeshire police's Ely sector inspector, said officers had been investigating and were currently reviewing the situation to determine the appropriate course of action. Twelve pupils were suspended for five days from Witchford Village College, near Ely, in October last year for smoking cannabis. An investigation was launched after a student was discovered smoking cannabis on school grounds by a member of staff during a break. Once the school started its investigation, several other pupils were discovered to have been involved and the group was suspended. The principal, John Shield, said at the time: "We are taking action about it. The worst thing would be if we didn't know it was going on." He said incidents such as this were quite rare at the 850-pupil school, although about four years ago two students were found to be in possession of a considerable amount of cannabis and were no longer students at Witchford.
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