Pubdate: Wed, 03 Oct 2007
Source: Evening Standard (London, UK)
Copyright: 2007 Associated Newspapers Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/914
Author: Dominic Hayes
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?135 (Drug Education)

EXPEL ANY PUPIL USING 'EVIL' DRUGS, SAYS HEAD

A leading headmaster is calling for a fresh crackdown on the "massive 
evil" of illegal drugs, with instant expulsion for any pupil caught 
taking them.

Anthony Seldon, head of UKP24,441-a-year Wellington College in 
Berkshire warns today that social attitudes to recreational narcotics 
have become far too lax.

He will tell the annual Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference - 
an organisation representing the country's leading independent 
schools - that part of the solution to the nation's growing drugs 
problem is to teach children how to be happy without them and will 
warn the conference in Bournemouth that rising rates of mental 
illness are being fuelled by the "cataclysmic" use of illegal and 
prescription drugs.

These include skunk, which is more powerful than other strains of 
cannabis and has been identified as a likely trigger of schizophrenia 
and psychosis in young people. "They are such a massive evil, even 
cannabis is so deeply evil and sinister."

Dr Seldon said what distinguished independent schools like his is the 
quality of pastoral care they offer. But they face the same problems 
as state schools - particularly when it comes to drugs, on which 
Wellington operates a "no second chance policy" he said.

Wellington College, a co-educational school which takes boarders and 
day pupils between 13 and 18, has hired a private security firm to 
conduct drugs sweeps with sniffer dogs once a term.

And he said the reason he has not expelled any pupils for drug-taking 
since becoming headmaster last year is because they knew they would 
be instantly ordered to leave if caught taking drugs.

"If you have a very, very clear, sharp policy, everyone knows where 
they stand. You have a hard, cruel policy to be kind."

Dr Seldon also lambasted the media for not portraying drug use 
negatively enough. "The media and the Government need to be far 
tougher. No illegal or recreational drugs are acceptable in any form."

He added that he knew of one man who had "lost his mind for six 
months" after smoking only one joint.

Dr Seldon has pioneered a compulsory course in well-being at 
Wellington and after the first year he said A-level and GCSE results 
at the school improved, although he was cautious about attributing 
the increase in top grades to the happiness course alone.

"It's very hard to pinpoint. Our results have gone up. Is that 
because we are doing this? I don't know. What there is clear evidence 
of is... if you can create an emotionally intelligent organisation, 
this has real benefits in a school."

Dr Seldon plans to extend the well-being course at Wellington to 
cover all pupils after initially focusing on those taking GCSEs.

Unlike the Government's Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning 
programme, which Schools Secretary Ed Balls said would be rolled out 
to secondary as well as primary schools, Wellington's scheme covers 
teachers as well as pupils, Dr Seldon said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom