TWO pupils have been expelled and five more suspended from one of Shropshire’s top schools after admitting being embroiled in drugs, its headmaster said today.

Eight other teenagers at Adams Grammar School in Newport have also been punished this week, said head teacher Michael Barratt.

It comes after a pupil came forward and made allegations that some students had been taking and dealing drugs, Mr Barratt said.

Police today confirmed they had been informed of the allegations from the school which was judged “outstanding” by Ofsted and regularly tops the county tables for GCSE and A level results.

In a letter to parents, Mr Barratt said police had been informed after a school investigation revealed the pupils, from years 10 to 12, were involved in Class B drugs.

He said: “You may have heard from your sons or daughters that Adams’ has recently carried out an investigation into certain pupils using and trading illegal substances.

Police

“A number of pupils at the school have admitted to being involved with an illegal substance. The different degrees of involvement have led to varying levels of severity in our sanctions, ranging from a warning letter home, through to permanent exclusion from the school.

“Furthermore, for some, the legal situation is such that we have handed the next stage, beyond school sanctions, to the police.

“We hope that the stance we are taking will reassure parents and pupils, as far as is possible in these circumstances, and that we will act decisively when anyone works against our community by deliberately purchasing and supplying illegal substances, or by partaking of such substances.”

Adams Grammar was founded in 1656 and has 800 pupils, including 270 sixth-formers.

This year the school was again one of the best-performing in Shropshire in GCSE and A level results, with a 98 per cent pass rate for both.

Pete Simmonds, spokesman for Telford police, said: “Police confirm that they have been notified of the allegations.”

EXCLUSIVE by Jason Lavan

An extract from the headmaster’s letter to parents

You may have heard from your sons or daughters that Adams’ has recently carried out an investigation into certain pupils using and trading illegal substances. Hearing about these matters at second hand can be difficult for you, and we regret that we are always at the mercy of particular individuals who wish to draw conclusions before the facts are available.

Investigations take time, and until we are sure of the facts and have decided on the action we will take, it is wrong to make statements. I am sorry, therefore, if you have heard any other version from another source.

Our investigation began on Monday evening of this week, involved interviews with a number of pupils, and was followed by careful consideration of what we had found. We made contact with the parents of the boys involved in order to explain how we would take matters forward before making any statement. I am now in a position to inform you of the current situation.

A number of pupils at the school, from Years 10 to 12, have admitted to being involved with an illegal substance. The different degrees of involvement have led to varying levels of severity in our sanctions, ranging from a warning letter home, through to permanent exclusion from the school.

We have taken these actions to protect our pupils because the welfare of pupils is our priority. Furthermore, for some, the legal situation is such that we have handed the next stage, beyond school sanctions, to the police.

We hope that the stance we are taking will reassure parents and pupils, as far as is possible in these circumstances, and that we will act decisively when anyone works against our community.

It is our duty to provide a safe, healthy environment and to protect our school pupils, as far as is reasonably possible, from the perils of substance misuse.

We have in place some carefully considered systems of investigation, some very clearly articulated expectations of conduct and behaviour and we supplement this with substance misuse education within the curriculum and reminders of the need to make appropriate choices.

We also want to place increasing levels of trust in our pupils.

The choices faced by teenagers, regarding substance misuse, are more acute in our older pupils .

In addition to the expectations we share with our pupils whilst they are with us, please could I encourage you to support our actions by talking through the delicate matter of substance misuse with your sons and daughters.

MJ Barratt, Headmaster