Police probe f ilm of pupils aged 12 ‘snorting drugs’
A SHOCKING video showing children as young as 12 apparently snorting drugs in school was being investigated by police yesterday.
The clip shows children in uniform at Venerable Bede Church of England Academy in Sunderland sniffing white powder which they take from a plastic bag attached to a key.
Laughing, the youngsters pass it around and one girl is heard to say: ‘I’m f ****** tanked.’ Then the camera moves to a boy in a white polo shirt with the school’s crest on his chest who snorts some of the powder and exclaims: ‘Yeah, mint.’
The video was reported to police after being shared more than 370 times on Facebook, with the pupils involved suspended by the school yesterday.
It comes after shocking figures revealed that around one in ten 11-year-olds claim to have taken recreational drugs, rising to more than a third of 15-year-olds.
In the footage, the children’s faces are obscured by a logo that says ‘Ey UR a mug’ and there is a caption across the screen that says ‘sniffing in school and that’ with two laughing emojis. The foot- age caused a shocked response from those who viewed it.
One father, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘It is disgusting. I have nieces and nephews at that school and my own daughter is due to attend, this sort of thing is not acceptable.’
The youth who originally posted the video wrote: ‘Did not know sniffing was a thing in schools now!’
Stephanie Cole remarked: ‘Oh my God how vile. School’s gone right downhill.’ Lynn Watson responded ‘My God’, asking: ‘Does anyone know whose bairn this is?’
Others said it was believed the children were in Year 9 at the school, which has 750 pupils and is rated ‘good’ by Ofsted. There was speculation the substance being passed around was the drug M-cat, otherwise known as mephedrone. It is said to have the same effects as cocaine.
Yesterday Keith Blundy, a spokesman for the academy and the Diocese of Durham, said: ‘We can confirm that there was an incident in school yesterday and that we are working closely with the police.
‘We operate a zero tolerance policy with regard to drugs and can also confirm that the pupils in question have been excluded pending the outcome of our inquiries.’
A Northumbria Police spokesman said: ‘Police have been made aware of a video circulating on social media which appears to show two pupils taking an unknown substance. We are currently working with the school and a full investigation is under way.’
Last year an NHS survey of 12,000 children found 24 per cent of 11 to 15-year-olds said they had tried recreational drugs at least once in their lives. A record 9,250 permanent and fixed period exclusions for drugs and alcohol were handed out by schools in 2015-16.
An NSPCC spokesman said: ‘It is important that young people are made aware of the risks of drugs. We would encourage any parents concerned that their child is taking drugs to speak to them about it and find out why, as listening to what a child has to say can help give an idea of how they can be helped.’