Fettes College pupil expelled from £30,000-a-year school after allegedly turning up to chapel service on ecstasy

A pupil at one of Britain’s most prestigious boarding schools has been expelled after allegedly turning up at a Sunday chapel service on ecstasy.

The 16-year-old was rushed to hospital from Fettes College in Edinburgh after teachers noticed he was acting in an agitated manner.

The student, who had only joined the £33,000-a-year boarding school this term, was later reported to police.

Geoffrey Stanford, headmaster at Fettes College, said that the incident “has shocked both pupils and staff”, adding that the school are treating it “very seriously”.

The student involved in last Sunday's incident had only been at the school just over a week, joining at the beginning of the autumn term on August 30.

He is understood to have returned to the school for the weekly chapel service after an afternoon out in Edinburgh.

While out in the town, he is thought to have bought the drug, taken it and returned to the campus. His parents, believed to be in Russia, were contacted in connection with the incident.

The school sought to reassure parents this week that it operates a zero tolerance policy towards students who abuse drugs, whether it is on the campus or off-site.

In a statement from the headmaster of the school, which counts former Prime Minister Tony Blair among its alumni, he said it is “in no way complacent” about the issue of drugs.

 “We therefore do a great deal of robust pro-active education with children through PSE lessons, in houses and through tutorial sessions,” Mr Stanford said.

“We emphasise and highlight the dangers associated with drugs as well as the consequences of their use”.

Fettes was rocked by a drug scandal in 2009 when four pupils were expelled and a further 15 suspended for smoking cannabis.

The expulsions were made after concerned pupils alerted teachers who found the students with cannabis on the school grounds.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Police in Edinburgh are investigating after a 16-year-old boy took unwell at a school on Sunday 10 September that was reported to police on Monday 11 September. A report has been submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”