JUDGE ALLOWS SCHOOL TALKS ON BANNED BOYS

A courtroom challenge by two pupils who were expelled from school for
smoking cannabis at a private party was adjourned in the Irish High Court
yesterday.

Mr Justice James Kearns put the case off for a week so that the teenaged
boys and their parents could have an opportunity to speak to the school's
board of management. The judge also ruled that neither the boys nor the
private school involved should be identified.

The boys have admitted they smoked cannabis at a party out of school hours
in a public house near Dublin last month. They were expelled after being
seen by a teacher who was also in the pub.

The judge said a court should not lightly interfere with the autonomy of
the school, or its capacity to discipline students. But he stressed that it
was a matter of concern that the boys were expelled before either they or
their parents had the opportunity to make submissions to the governors.

He said that if both sides agreed, the meeting between the parents and the
management could go ahead without the presence of lawyers.