THREE 12-year-old girls have been suspended from a York school for bringing cannabis into the school.

The Year Seven girls are pupils at Joseph Rowntree School, at New Earswick, and were given fixed-term exclusions for several days by head teacher Hugh Porter.

He said it had emerged from other pupils that the three girls had brought some cannabis into school from home and then taken it home again.

When asked about the story, they all admitted what they had done, but Mr Porter said none of them had used the drug in school.

"It was brought into school for a bit of bravado to show their friends," he said.

He said it was extremely rare for pupils so young to have drugs on them, and he had never come across it before in ten years as a head teacher.

"The school is always vigilant, as all schools are, because we know that the use is so prevalent in society that it is likely to find its way into school from time to time.

"It's yet another indication of how much cannabis there is in our communities.

"Adults and drugs is one thing, but when you have young children with them, it really is quite worrying.

"Our policy is to take a very firm line. When anyone found in possession of drugs or who admits possession, we contact the parents and the police and give students a fixed-term or permanent exclusion, depending on the nature of the offence or their record.

"We also work within the guidance on drugs issued by the City of York Council."

Sergeant Bob Chambers, of Clifton Moor Police Station, said the incident had been reported and officers would be investigating.

"With pupils this age we would want to know where they've got it from and what the circumstances were.

"We do know from statistics that kids at that age are becoming more and more exposed to drugs at home and at school. Recent reports continue to say that the large majority of school kids have come into contact with cannabis.

"We do try and do what we can to get people into schools and work with them."

Updated: 14:23 Monday, December 10, 2001