I am increasingly concerned by the amount of drinking and drug taking that some of my younger students appear to be involved in. I have one particular pupil who is frequently so out of it that she likes to crawl under the table and fall asleep. This lifestyle definitely has an effect on attainment and it continues despite the intervention of personal tutors and the distribution of literature on the dangers of drugs and alcohol abuse.
* Of course, young people of a certain temperament are always going to want to experiment with substances that are illegal and deemed harmful. Alcohol, of course, acts in town centres around the country and yet we are now in a country on the verge of adopting 24-hour drinking. The long-term financial implications for the NHS of alcohol-related illness are a cause for concern and money will have to be spent, money that might better serve other areas of the public sector such as schools and colleges. We need to rethink the way that children are taught about life and health and happiness so that they can grow up into responsible adults who see the benefits of education, culture and society.
Dilemmas should be emailed to Donald Short at ds@moylescourt.hants.sch.uk