DRUG WORRY FOR SCHOOLS

Hulme Grammar School headmaster Mr Ken Jones is certainly right when
he says, in the wake of his decision to expel four pupils for using
cannabis, that no secondary school in the country can claim to be a
drug-free zone.

A couple of Oldham schools have already had well-publicised incidents
where pupils have been caught in possession, one case leading to
expulsion and the other to short-term suspension.

Other secondary schools - and maybe some junior schools, too - are
likely to be wrestling with the problem of illicit drug use because
drugs have become so much a part of youth culture that it is
inconceivable that schools, where young people gather in great
numbers, are not affected.

The question facing all schools when drugs - usually cannabis, but
sometimes harder drugs - are found on the premises is what to do
about it. The supplier of the drugs has not yet been identified in
the Hulme case and Oldham police, who were involved at a very early
stage are continuing their inquiries.

Mr Jones, his staff and his school governors were adamant that
suspension followed by expulsion was the best course of action to
send out the firm message that Hulme will deal very severely with any
involvement in drugs.

Hulme Grammar School, has, bravely, been prepared to discuss its drug
problem openly and to justify the way school has dealt with it in an
equally open and robust manner.

Expulsion is, of course, the ultimate punishment available to all
schools and it certainly sends out a clear message to pupils that
transgressions will not be tolerated, but whether it is a fair and
just punishment is open to some doubt.

Pupils excluded from one school may find in hugely difficult to gain
a place a another which, in some cases, can turn a juvenile lapse
into a life-damaging disaster. The problem here is one of striking a
balance between punishment and crime, especially when the
consequences of the punishment may be so dire.