Police probes into ketamine in schools skyrocket as grieving mum issues tragic warning
Police investigations into ketamine seizures in schools rose five-fold in a year, new figures reveal.
Children as young as 13 were caught by teachers in possession of the deadly horse tranquilliser while others were found selling it to fellow pupils. Police were called to just three schools in 2022/23 over ketamine finds, a figure that rose to 15 the following academic year, a Freedom of Information request by the MIrror reveals.
The true number of cases is thought to be far higher with many teachers choosing not to involve the police so as not to criminalise their pupils. But what is striking about the new data is how ketamine is being found in schools across the country, with four rural, smaller forces having the same number of reports as the Metropolitan Police. It comes after a doctor's warning to people who drink even a 'single cup of tea'.
Wendy Teasdill, whose 18-year-old daughter Ellie Rowe died after taking ketamine at a festival in 2013, said: "It is in the villages now and places you wouldn't expect, it's in the parks and in the playgrounds. It's a vast issue and we need more awareness. It's especially found in poorer areas because it's so cheap and children can take it without leaving a trace because it doesn't smell like smoking drugs does.
"Now you can get it on Snapchat and Telegram and it's cheap, they can get a hit for a couple of quid. To parents I would say if you think your kid would never do it, think again because I never thought my daughter would take it. I would say find out as much as you can from them and don't judge, really talk to them and listen."
Wendy, a yoga teacher from Glastonbury, Somerset, said of her daughter: "She was a sparkling personality with a great wit and kindness. She was generous, she was clever and she was very optimistic and caring with her friends." Of the 43 police forces in England and Wales, 26 responded to our request for information about the number of ketamine cases in schools they have investigated in the last three years.
The most were carried out by Kent (6) and West Mercia (5) police forces between 2022 and this year. But the drug has infiltrated schools across the country with other forces reporting cases including Cambridgeshire (3), Lincolnshire (2), North Wales (2), Dorset (2), Sussex (2), Cheshire (1), Norfolk (1), Suffolk (1), Cumbria (1), North Yorks (1), Derbyshire (1), and Wiltshire (1).
Only two cases were reported to the Met Police between 2022 and 2025, the force said. Between 2020 and 2024 ketamine consumption by the public as a whole has risen 85%, sampling human waste from sewage plants suggests.
It comes as the number of under-18s in drug treatment who name ketamine as one of their problem substances rose from 335 to 917 between 2020-21 and 2023-24, according to the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System.
A brief police description of the Cumbria case stated: 'The suspect has been searched at school following reports a small white bag containing powder had been seen. Upon being searched, the bag was found and the suspect admitted to this being Ketamine.'
In one case in Lincolnshire, the force recorded: "One student has given another student suspected controlled substance." Derbyshire Police stated: "Student identified from CCTV to be supplying another student with Ketamine whilst on school premises."
Ben Davis, headteacher of St Ambrose Barlow RC High School, in Swinton, Manchester, told the BBC he first found pupils were taking the drug in 2021. He said: "We were really shocked because to us ketamine wasn't something that was talked about. I thought god this is terrible, we are going to be seen as a druggie school, so yes we worried it was just us but it turned out not to be.
"I think the real lesson is that if you think something isn't happening in your school then it is and you're going to get a nasty surprise."
Mr Davis said he set up a special support team for pupils so that they were not criminalised and helped them to get off the drug. Latest figures show there were 53 deaths involving ketamine in 2023.
The highly addictive Class B drug has been linked to high-profile deaths including those of Friends actor Matthew Perry and drag star The Vivienne. Abuse of the drug can also lead to permanent bladder damage and difficulties with brain functioning. It can cost as little as £10 a gram making it far cheaper than MDMA, cannabis and cocaine.
Matt Wrack, General Secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, said of the increase of drugs in schools: 'They are contributing to the rise we are seeing in disruptive, violent and abusive behaviour in schools. NASUWT teachers tell us that along with increased tiredness and lack of focus and interest in learning, they are causing irritability, mood swings and erratic behaviour among the pupils they teach.
'This is clearly not an issue that schools can solve alone, we need greater action from government and other expert services to help deter young people from using or accessing illegal or prohibited substances or activities and causing harm to themselves or others.'
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