PARENTS TO PAY FOR SCHOOL DRUG TESTS

Parents of pupils at a Scottish private school are
being asked to pay UKP 50 for drug tests for their children
as part of a crackdown on cannabis use.

Following an investigation at the Edinburgh Academy that discovered
some fourth-form students had used the drug, the headmaster, John
Light, has introduced a programme of random tests.

Any student who fails to comply or tests positive will be immediately
expelled.

Mr Light has suggested that parents recoup the fee, which is to cover
the cost of bringing in a nurse to administer the tests, from their
child's allowances or pocket money.

"It is our duty to keep drugs out of school and to protect the
pupils," said Mr Light.

"Drugs can affect any family and any school in the country. You can't
keep drugs out simply by putting up school railings."

In a letter to the parents of the pupils involved in using drugs, Mr
Light asked parents for their help to ensure the children stay drug-free.

Mr Light said that students who admitted using cannabis would be
allowed to continue their studies so long as they agreed to the tests
and understood any future positive result would mean exclusion.

Other private schools have already taken steps to drug test pupils,
including Portsmouth Grammar School and Eton, although Edinburgh
Academy is the first school to ask parents to fund such a scheme.