IPSWICH School has suspended two of its pupils after they allegedly brought drugs into school premises, it has been revealed.The pupils, whose ages are not known, have been accused of bringing what is believed to be cannabis into the renowned £2,000-a-term school.

IPSWICH School has suspended two of its pupils after they allegedly brought drugs into school premises, it has been revealed.

The pupils, whose ages are not known, have been accused of bringing what is believed to be cannabis into the renowned £2,000-a-term school.

Staff at Henley Road, premises have now launched an investigation into the incident, and will decide upon the fate of the youngsters once it is completed.

However, it is customary for pupils at the school to face expulsion in matters concerning drugs.

In addition to the drug-related incident, it has also been confirmed a third pupil at the school has recently been caught shoplifting while on a school skiing trip in Canada.

Head teacher Ian Galbraith said enquiries into the drugs-related matter were continuing at the school, although it had not contacted the police about the incident yet.

"Two children have been suspended. It's to do with an investigation on whether the children have brought drugs into the school, but we do not know the situation as yet," he said.

"We have not been in touch with the police yet. Our line is that somebody who's suspected of having a drug at school is suspended.

"If that is confirmed, they are normally expelled but we do look at each case as an individual case. The investigations are not complete though," he added.

Mr Galbraith said the school, which caters for 680 pupils in the senior school, took a firm stance on pupils taking drugs because it was an act that breaks the law.

He said it was not the first time the school had been forced to suspend pupils for bringing suspected drugs into the school. Four years' ago two pupils were expelled for possessing cannabis, he added.

"The important point really is children can make mistakes, but they are serious mistakes if they go against the law of the land," he said.

The incident comes just days after a school based in Portsmouth made the national headlines because its local education authority ordered a headteacher to reinstate two pupils who had been expelled for dealing cannabis.

Neil Brett, headteacher of St Edmunds Roman Catholic School in Southsea, had suspended the two pupils, aged 15 and 16, after they were found selling cannabis in the toilets at lunchtime.

But an independent appeals panel established by Portsmouth City Council ruled that the two pupils should be allowed to return to lessons.

Mr Galbraith said Canadian police had not pressed charges on the pupil who had been caught shoplifting in the country while on a school trip, and said the school had instead punished the child themselves by making them do odd jobs around its premises.

Moira Jackson, Suffolk County Council's education communications manager, said state schools were responsible for drawing up and enforcing their own policies on pupil discipline.

"These policies would include what the school would do in the case of a drugs related matter. State schools in Suffolk are supported by the LEA in tackling issues such as drugs and pupil discipline through staff and governor training programmes and advisory work in schools.

"This work includes advice and guidance on addressing drug related matters through the curriculum and with parents," she added.