Action against pupils over drugs found at a Shrewsbury school
Pupils at a Shrewsbury school have had action taken against them after drugs were found on the premises.
Police and paramedics were called to The Priory School following an incident involving a number of pupils.
Swift action was taken to deal with the 'extremely serious' incident and letters were sent to parents informing them of the situation.
Headmaster Mike Barrett refused to elaborate on the type of drugs found or the sanctions imposed but said the school had a robust anti-drugs policy.
But he said that no child had been selling Class A drugs in the school's toilets.
Mr Barrett added: "There had been instances around illegal substances in the school. We have taken steps and sanctioned a number of students because of their choices around this. We will not tolerate students making poor choices.
"We had an issue based around drugs.I wrote to parents saying we rely on students making good choices and when they do not we will take action.
"If anyone is caught bringing drugs on to the school site, we will take very severe action.
"We have sanctioned a number of students and we will continue to do so. It is about protecting and safeguarding the students who do make good choices.
"Our school operates on trust. For the vast majority of students they do that all the time. It is the very few who occasionally make mistakes.
"Parents have been informed, as have the school's governors. This is to protect the integrity of the investigation and to protect those involved.
Paramedics
"The matter was dealt with in a very serious way and we will continue to do so. When police and paramedics are involved that shows how serious the matter was."
In a letter to parents Mr Barrett added: "Illegal substances, of all types, are widely available to those that seek them. We are in regular contact with the police about this, and Shrewsbury has its own networks of suppliers who are very active indeed.
"When students fail to respect our expectations and make wrong choices, we will impose proportionate sanction. Any matter relating to illegal substances is dealt with very seriously indeed, and we will show no tolerance at all for anyone who brings substances into school, or takes them on school site.
"This particular matter has included working with paramedics and the police.
"Ultimately, I will share a message with our students about the seriousness of this matter, when we have concluded all our investigations.
"In the meantime, could I please ask for your support in re-enforcing this message, so that our students are reminded that we have their best interests at heart, even if this means having difficult conversations with them?"
The school has more than 800 pupils aged between 11 and 16 years old and was rated as outstanding in its latest Ofsted inspection.
