TWO quotes from Wednesday's Evening Press... page one: "Cannabis in the classroom"; page five: "It is unclear whether the boy had the drug on the school's premises or during schools hours."

I think there is some inconsistency of presentation, if not of actual reporting, here.

Given the fact that the boy was arrested, it is not even clear that the cannabis was in the school at all. A boy caught elsewhere would, in the ordinary course of events, be asked to name his school. There may be no more connection than that.

The head of the school is to be congratulated after calling for "a realistic debate about drugs in schools".

Your essentially sensationalist headline makes such a debate more difficult and, therefore, more unlikely.

Your headline-writer has let you down and, more importantly, let down a sensitive, intelligent headmaster.

David Hughes,

Westminster Road, York.

Editor's note: "Rather than the incident involving a Joseph Rowntree pupil, the front page headline reflected the wider issue of drugs in schools and the fact that 18 pupils have been suspended from city secondary schools since September 2003.

"It was substantiated by Hugh Porter's assessment that drugs were an increasing part of youth culture and it would be 'foolish to think there's not going to be, from time to time, some drugs issues in all schools'.

"Unfortunately, in attacking our headline, Mr Hughes appears to have totally overlooked our leader column Comment 'Brave move on drugs' which paid tribute to Mr Porter's honest approach."

Updated: 09:31 Friday, March 18, 2005