Energy drink kids drove me out of teaching
Teacher quits over ‘tanked-up’ pupils
A TEACHER has quit the profession because aggressive kids “high on energy drinks” ruined the job for her.
Laura Douglas 38, said she has been sworn at, taunted and had lessons ruined by pupils swigging drinks such as Red Bull, Monster Energy and Lucozade.
She told the Mirror: “This is a genuinely massive problem for teachers.
“Kids are using energy drinks as if they are drugs to elevate their mood.
“They pump them up and make them high when they might already be sleepdeprived, hungry and grumpy.
“I have seen big, strong hormonal lads shoving teachers in corridors, threatening other pupils and staff. They’re tanked-up with bravado, raring to go.”
Last week the Mirror worked with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver to launch a campaign urging the Government to ban sales of energy drinks to under-16s. He said: “I’ve seen the aggressive rise of energy drinks among schoolkids.
“Our children are addicted to them, often drinking several a day and sometimes even instead of proper meals.
“These high-caffeine, high-sugar drinks are causing chaos in classrooms. It’s like passive smoking; these drinks impact everyone in the room.”
A 10-year-old should not consume more than 99mg caffeine or 24g sugar
daily. A 250ml can of Red Bull has 80mg caffeine and 27g sugar. Lucozade Sport (500ml) has an unspecified amount of caffeine and 18g of sugar.
A 500ml Monster Energy can, around £1, has 160mg of caffeine and 55g sugar. Original Energy, with 80mg caffeine per 250ml can, can be bought for just 30p.
So far only Waitrose has said it will refuse to sell energy drinks to under-16s.
Laura, who has taught in South East London and Hertfordshire, said: “Kids come to classes clutching tins of energy drinks, but if you ask them to throw them away or put them in their locker you get told, ‘F*** off, Miss, I need it. It’s my lunch’. Others would say, ‘You can’t take it off me. My mum bought it’.” “[We] tried raising it with parents, but at the moment you can’t stop a 14-yearold buying drinks on the way to school.” The former religious studies teacher, of St Albans, who has worked as a prison drugs counsellor, added: “I will not set foot in another classroom to teach.” Chris Keates, of teachers’ union NASUWT, urged Government to take action. He said: “The profession can’t afford to have teachers driven out.” Lucozade said: “Our energy drinks are not marketed at children, nor are they high-caffeine drinks... consequently [there is] no ‘alertness’ claim on the pack.” Red Bull, Monster Energy and Original Energy did not respond to the Mirror’s request for comment.