What would you expect the punishment to be ...

[jimbobb]

... for all involved if a 16yo student bought vodka on a school trip, consumed it in the hotel, and sold it to other students as young as 14, who also consumed it in the hotel?
e.g.
Permanent exclusion for the purchaser?
Fixed term exclusion for the others involved?

If it was my school then it would probably all be hushed up and there would be no punishment. Oh and the staff would be to blame for not knowing beforehand. 🙄
I think all involved should be punished, maybe short term exclusions for all involved with longer for the one who brought it. 🤔

We'd probably go for 15 days for the purchaser, on the basis that PEX would likely be overturned.

I think they would all be excluded but the purchaser would have a longer exclusion. I doubt it would be a permanent exclusion as the bar for this is so high .

Is the 16yo a sixth former, because I think that changes things? I think it is easier to get PEx to stick for a sixth former because they are passed compulsory education? If they are, I probably would expect them to have to leave the school.

If they're in the middle of GCSEs, I would expect them only on site for exams, and a ban from Prom and any further trips. Realistically, no-one is going to exclude a student in the middle of exams.

For the others, I would expect a short exclusion, and ban from future trips.

Thanks..Not a sixth former. Year 11.

All of the students involved would be immediately sent home at the parents’ expense and inconvenience.

At this point in the year the Y11 would be permitted on site only to sit their exams, with no contact with other students. Sixth form place withdrawn.

The other students would likely have a short FTE or an internal exclusion.

Bloody hell, we had Yr10 sneak in vodka to the hotel on a trip abroad (probably bought by the 6th formers who were part of a larger trip group) and the punishment we meted out was to give them a bollocking, pour it all down the bog in front of them and ring their parents the next day. We also spoke to the leaders of the 6th form group to tell them to lay off our kids.

Would it make a difference to the Year 11 student anyway as exam season is almost over… and they go on indefinite study leave…
Could just not give the said student a place in the sixth form?

I don’t think exclusion is a punishment anyway- they’re getting time off away from school for being naughty?

Surely the point of exclusion is that it sends a clear message to parents that this behaviour isn't tolerated, and it inconveniences them? Exclusion is still seen as a serious sanction by most parents- it makes them sit up and take notice.

It also shows the wider student and staff body that you're taking this very seriously.

Something like this happened on one of my ds school trip .It resulted in a midnight call to parents ( they were in another country so couldn't be feasibly sent home) and a Saturday detention.

It would be completely illegal to withdraw a Sixth Form place for this. I’m sure there are schools that would do it and just cross their fingers that nobody sues them over it but it is a very clear breach of the admissions code.

In my school, the most likely outcome would be a FTE for the kids involved, depending on the recommendation of the trip leader. We may ask parents to collect them and send them home (depending on whether that was practical).

I’m sure that some of our trip leaders would just do what @SabbatWheel did though. Tip it away, give them a big telling off, call their parents and maybe “ground” them for some of the trip, leaving back at the hotel with a member of staff so they miss out on the activities that the others are doing. We’ve done that in the past for bad behaviour on residential trips.