SCHOOLS' WAKE-UP CALL FOR HUNGOVER TEENS

Secondary school heads are demanding that 20 be reinstated as the
drinking age after reporting that hungover pupils are struggling to
stay awake during lessons.

Weekend binge drinking is making the pupils, some as young as 15,
impossible to teach because they are exhausted by booze and drugs.

Ministry of Education figures show that in 2004, 3116 students were
either stood down or suspended for bringing drugs and alcohol to
school - 135 were between 5 and 10 years.

"Some students just tend to go to sleep on a Monday, and it's obvious
they have been partying all weekend, not just Friday night but right
through to Sunday afternoon," said Otamatea High School principal
Haydn Hutching. "A few even smoke marijuana before school and we
need to stamp this out."

He said he had just suspended four students for either possessing or
smoking drugs at school after police sniffer dogs were brought in to
check all 520 students. Another 15 pupils who had been "in contact"
with drugs were identified and warned.

Some schools randomly test students who have had a previous drug
issue, but Hutching is calling for school-wide testing.

He is one of many principals opposed to the lowering drinking age
from 20 to 18, believing it has made alcohol more accessible to teenagers.

But he accuses some parents of supplying their children with alcohol
for parties and says attitudes to teen drinking need to change.

Principal of Rodney College in Wellsford, Julie Small, said her
school dealt with students struggling to cope with classes on Monday
because they were recovering from Saturday night.

"We believe this is a trend happening throughout New Zealand," she
said.

Hamilton Boys' High School headmaster Susan Hassall said a small
minority of boys - often 15 years or older - overindulged in alcohol
on weekends and were not mature enough to realise the effect this has
on their studies and health. "The lower drinking age has been a real
disadvantage, as it allows easier access to alcohol when many
teenagers are just too young to deal with it."

Secondary Principals Association of New Zealand president Graham
Young - also the principal of Tauranga Boys' College - believes that
while alcohol has always been a problem, bigger problems are posed by
the variety of substances readily available. "A few generations ago
there was just beer, but now there's a range of alcoholic drinks,
party pills and drugs like marijuana or worse that they can access."
He said while these problems were not unique to New Zealand, the
binge aspect of alcohol consumption did seem peculiar to Kiwi
culture. "But I do think the problem has been exacerbated by a low
drinking age."

Mike MacAvoy, chief executive of the Alcohol Advisory Council, said:
"It is time for parents and the community to put their hands up and
take some responsibility for their young people. Young people can't
legally buy alcohol; they have to rely on adults to supply them."

He does not believe raising the drinking age to 20 again will solve
this problem.