LevellerLive

Mark Woodlock, Headteacher at the Blue School in Wells, wrote to parents and guardians last week about vapes. In his letter he notes: “The issue of vaping and its consequences has occupied a substantial proportion of my time in the last year. Part of that is the management of this issue amongst a large group of teenagers as schools are often at the sharp end of societal change. Equally, I have spent time working with other headteachers, to try to enlist much wider support for a change in the law.
It is with this in mind that I am writing to you. It is my intent to raise awareness to help your children to make sensible and informed decisions. In addition, we should be able to use our voice as a community to create the environment for change.”

The Headteacher explains that the school is aware of reports of local shops selling vapes to those who are clearly school children. He adds “Whenever we receive this information, it is immediately passed to the police.” There is also concern about very young children vaping and vapes being a gateway to criminality. Mr Woodlock says he has seen evidence supplied by Avon and Somerset police that suggests children as young as 8 years old are experimenting with vapes. He notes an increasing concern around “criminal activity that creates business models to supply younger and younger children.”

Responding to the letter and the concerns raised in it, MP for Wells, James Heappey issued a statement today. He says: “I congratulate the Headteacher of The Blue School on his excellent letter to parents and the robust approach that he and his staff take to the use, possession and dealing of vapes in school. I also welcome the steps being taken by Avon and Somerset Police Force to clamp down on the illegal sale of vapes to clearly underage people. It’s time that we all realised what a scourge vapes are and how widely they are being used by school aged children. I will of course pass on The Blue School’s recommendations to the Government but in the meantime we as a community, police force and school will need to work together to ensure the existing laws are enforced.”

The school have made their position crystal clear. “As a school we will maintain our robust line on vapes in school as part of our duty to keep students safe. Students have been informed that the possession, use, or dealing in vapes will result in suspension.”