Drugs in schools - Fortismere

[Dadof2sd]

I have heard of several cases of drugs usage in Fortismere. Some old cases but also some very recent. It's all very concerning with 2 children in primary and Fortismere being our local school. How big the problem is? Is it common in all schools in London, all schools in UK?
Anyone with children in Fortismere? What do you think of it? Are they working towards improving things after the latest ofsted downgrade?

Very, very common.

You are unlikely to find any secondary school anywhere in the country where drugs do not appear from time to time.

What matters is the school's policies towards it - what do they do about pupils being under the influence on the premises, found with drugs, caught dealing?

I have no experience of Fortismere but drug use in secondary schools is very common unfortunately.

My daughter goes to the school very near it and it's just as bad there OP. I thought it would be better as they're strict and the intake isn't as wealthy but it's the same.

Fortismere staff don't give a hoot about the drug taking. I live next to the school and it is a daily occurrence to see kids smoking weed around the corner on kings avenue. I have seen a SLT member go get a child for a social services meeting and leave his friends smoking on the street

Tbh it happens everywhere but Fortismere with its liberal catchment has the attitude of not my problem

You'd be pushed to find any secondary school anywhere that doesn't have drug use.

Is Fortismere any worse than the other schools in that area?

Common everywhere, Fortismere is much better than some!

Same in all London schools really - private or state. Tbh all you can do is hope your kids are sensible and either don’t take them - or at least start later say year 11 on. Teach them about staying with their friends, looking out for each other. Tbh worse things happen around alcohol and teens tbh.
Drug and alcohol use gets tempered by lack of funds even among the wealthier kids. It’s part of life.

It's in all secondary schools.
I had a very brave yr7 boy come out of a toilet and tell me that some older boys were dealing.
We were able to wait for them and do a bag search.
It's often cannabis, but vaping is a huge problem at the moment.

The situation is terrible at Fortismere. But that's what we witness/hear about since we live so close by. We have a friend who moved out of London and they have found the situation vastly different in their local school - nice riverside town outside London. That got us to think that is it really more of a London based problem?

The issue is the same in most places, the difference is the attitude in parents. We found the parents in Fortismere are often the arty liberal, guardian reader types who take drugs themselves. This makes the efforts of the school futile.
We are just down the road from it and although the catchment is also quite wealthy and my DD has had things offered, none of her friends parents would condone smoking weed and none smoke anywhere near the school. That level of brazenness is just rude. The parents were attracted to the school because it's much more strict so I suspect it's reflected in how effective the schools efforts are to curb this sort of stuff. I suspect you know that parents are either in the Fortismere box when it comes to school choice, or this other school. A fortismere parent wouldn't fit in at at my daughter's school and vice versa.

In liberal schools, any really, the problem often lies in the parental body not the pastoral staff or even SLT. I suspect Fortismere does the same anti drug things as any other schools.
The ex head of Fortismere was quite vocal in that that was her most difficult school and one she would never send her own kids to, mostly because of the parental attitudes. She even wrote a book about it.
Ultimately a childs personality will be a big factor too, not every single child at Fortismere smokes.

Thanks @Dodgeitornot. That's very interesting re the parents influence overall. I understand that not every child will smoke at Fortismere but I think the amount of it going around also has a big influence. And that's what I am worried about. I also heard that their recent ofsted was published after many months and was rated good and most people expected it to be worse. And the rumor was that the school appealed the rating so might have been worse. Hope the recent downgrade in rating will work out for the better.
Which book is it? I would be really interested in reading any articles etc by the ex head.

No it’s not. There is drug use in virtually every secondary school in the country.

@Dodgeitornot - found the book. Thanks

@Dadof2sd It's not a rumour, they did appeal. Lots of N London schools were downgraded including Henrietta Barnett and Camden Girls. It's still a good school, but you do need to remember this is a catchment problem not necessarily a school one. This is a huge problem in most wealthy areas and increasingly poor ones too. Especially smoking weed. Your friends child is either young or not come across drugs in their school yet. I can guarantee they're there though. It's not a London problem, in fact it's often worse out of London, especially in rural areas.
Here's the article: www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/23029241.former-fortismere-heads-warts-all-memoir-reveals-entitled-parents-pupil-sit-ins/

@creekingmillenial it is quite sad that it's the case. But just out of curiosity are you familiar with Fortismere? Do you have children in any other secondary school to draw a direct comparison?
Just want to know if it's as rampant everywhere.

In that area your best bet would be APS, Wren or Compton. This is no guarantee as they will all have some level of drug use. However, they are all a lot more strict than Fortismere and the parents aren't as set on intro to drugs being part and parcel of KS4.

Really interesting thread seeing an insight into London secondary schools….. didn’t know this all went on!! Do they have police officers in secondary schools like they do in the north? Comparison major northern city, police officers based it probably 70/80% of secondary schools (buy in from the school)…. Areas of high deprivation and extreme wealth, issues with drugs / weapons / violence are dealt with immediately and effectively , managed moves are rife etc… permenant exclusions etc

Fortismere is well known to have a drug problem. I know someone whose older two kids went there, they went elsewhere for 6th form due to this. I don't think it's a Guardian reader issue but kids from wealthier backgrounds having the money for drugs. It was the same when I was at school (not in London), the kids from the wealthiest homes were the ones doing drugs; smoking spliffs at lunchtime and not getting caught.
DP went to a different Haringey secondary amd he said even back then Fortismere was known for having rich kids who regularly did drugs.

Do they have police officers in secondary schools like they do in the north?

Some do. One round here was one of the first in the country to have them. It was one of the schools bumping around at the bottom of school performance nationally for ages, had several interventions that did not succeed, but was Harris'ed a few years ago and finally seems to be turning round.

Nope, happened at my elite grammar school in Kent. And my 16 year old friends at the local private school were already doing cocaine at that age. Happens everywhere.

It’s increasingly problematic in schools with wealthy / liberal / absent (because they are both working long hours) parents. See also Redland green in Bristol.

Unfortunately there are drugs in most, if not all post primary schools. Much of which goes undetected. You just have to hope you’ve instilled enough of the right values in your child that they say no.

Was rife in the 90s too, but I would say it was similar with all the local schools round there. Also the same for my friend in beautiful rural Cornwall.

My kids went to ‘outstanding’ and highly sought after schools in S London. And have / had friends in others of equal repute, state and private.

Drug taking was rife. Absolutely rife. But the school that had a greater number of students engaged in gang activity took a much more consistent and rigorous approach than the school with a greater number of children of well off liberal media type parents.

The private school students were the ones with cocaine etc. Otherwise it was weed, MDMA, nox and plenty of vodka.

This is all v recent.