PUPIL'S ERROR: $5 ON DRUGS

ONE of nine girls expelled from an exclusive private school for buying
marijuana said yesterday she had bought $5 worth of the drug.

The 16-year-old claimed it was the first time she had bought marijuana
and said she thought the punishment handed out by Pymble Ladies'
College was too harsh for the offence.

Parents, students and ex-students of the college claimed yesterday
that students had been selling and using marijuana on school grounds
for over six months and police said they would investigate drug
dealing at the college.

The 16-year-old who spoke to The Daily Telegraph said she had bought
$5 worth of marijuana from another student last Tuesday.

"I only bought $5 worth and I didn't even smoke it," she said. "It was
the first time I'd ever done it. Everyone does it, I shouldn't have
been kicked out. I'm not sure what will happen now."

One of the nine Year 9 students was expelled for buying marijuana, two
were expelled for selling and two others were suspended, one for three
days and the other for three weeks.

The mother of one of the girls said yesterday her daughter was being
used as a scapegoat by PLC, which charges $8610 a year in fees for
Year 7-10 students and $9375 for Year 11-12.

"There was one girl that was dealing in marijuana and she was dealing
to all the other girls. There probably are many more than eight other
girls. But these eight girls admitted to it," she said.

Police yesterday contacted PLC principal Gillian Moore after the
school failed to notify police after the incident.

Hornsby crime manager Detective Inspector Brett Cooper said police
would investigate whether charges should be laid.

Mrs Moore said yesterday the girls were "asked to leave" the college
"as a result of a serious breach of school rules".

"Interviews were undertaken with the girls involved and with one or
both of their parents," Mrs Moore said.

Students from the college yesterday told The Daily Telegraph the
investigation by the school started after three Year 9 students
arrived at school visibly affected by marijuana.

"A teacher found the marijuana in one of the girl's school bags and
they had to dob in who they were going to sell it to," one student,
who wished not to be named, said.

Several students said there was a culture of drugs at the school and
some girls had smoked "bongs" during lunch breaks.

The girls said several students brought quantities of marijuana to
school on a daily basis, specifically to sell. A spokeswoman for the
upper north shore school confirmed the girls had been expelled without
being offered counselling.

It is a requirement of all public school principals that they call
police whenever a student is caught dealing or in possession of an
illegal drug.

Private schools determine their rules and discipline.

NSW Parents Council president Duncan McInnes, who represents parents
of students in private schools, said the girls' actions broke school
rules, so they should be expelled.

But Parents and Citizens Federation president Bev Baker said the move
meant the girls were being expelled from the private school, so public
schools would have to deal with the problem.