One in seven pupils uses drugs to sit GCSES

Schoolchildren admitting taking illicit prescription medication for exams far outnumber students

One in seven children aged 13 to 16 has admitted using powerful illicit prescription drugs, typically prescribed to people with conditions such as ADHD, narcolepsy and Alzheimer’s disease, to boost their performance in their GCSE exams, a study has found. In what head teachers described as a “shocking” discovery, GCSE pupils were found to be twice as likely as A-level students or undergraduates to be taking the drugs Adderall, Ritalin and Modafinil.

THOUSANDS of teenagers are risking their health by using powerful illicit prescription drugs to boost their performance in their GCSE exams, a study has found for the first time.

One in seven children aged 13 to 16 has admitted taking the drugs, which are typically prescribed to people with conditions such as ADHD, narcolepsy and Alzheimer’s disease.

It is twice the number of A-level pupils or university students to have admitted using concentration-boosting drugs, and marks the first evidence of children taking them to improve performance.

In what head teachers described as a “shocking” discovery, GCSE pupils were found to be twice as likely as Alevel students or undergraduates to be taking the drugs Adderall, Ritalin and Modafinil, according to the research by Yougov.

The drugs, banned for use except on prescription, can temporarily enhance concentration and memory.

But they can have dangerous side effects including anxiety, sleeplessness and a greater risk of psychosis and heart attacks.

They can be bought from online pharmacies that have sprouted up since the drugs were banned from over-the-counter sales under the Psychoactive Substances Act in 2016. Students say they also buy them from young people who have been legitimately prescribed them, the most common of which is Ritalin.

Prescriptions of the drug, which boosts concentration and well-being by increasing the amount of dopamine in the brain, have doubled to 1.7 million in a decade. A single pill can exchange hands on the black market for as much as £10, say students.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the use of the drugs by GCSE pupils was “shocking” and a “dangerous trend” but highlighted the extreme anxiety and stress children faced over GCSES, which typically now involve 33 hours of exams in six weeks.

“Young people at this age may be particularly vulnerable to poorly informed peer pressure and unreliable information they find online. We strongly urge students against taking the drugs as study aids,” he said.

“Their uncontrolled use can cause harmful side effects and dependency, and may actually be counterproductive in terms of performance in exams.

“As a society, we also need to look at the pressure we are placing on our young people in a GCSE system which the Government has ratcheted up in the name of increased rigour over the past few years.” GCSE pupils are marginally the most anxious about their exams compared with A-level students and undergraduates, with 77 per cent saying they felt very or fairly stressed, according to the poll of 1,000 people.

Asked if they had ever taken prescription drugs such as Adderall, Ritalin and Modafinil to “try to improve focus during the exam season”, 14 per cent said they had, compared with seven per cent of A-level students and six per cent of undergraduate or postgraduate students.

The figures could be an underestimate as 41 per cent of GCSE pupils claimed at least half their close friends had taken such “study” drugs. A total of one in six (15 per cent) said most or all of them had.

Fewer A-level students and undergraduates reported their friends taking them.