ULLADULLA High School is “a great school” according to the people who are there virtually every day – the students.
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More than 20 of the school’s student leaders united with one voice last week to passionately defend Ulladulla High from any perceptions about the school and its cohort in the wake of reports about incidents of drug offences in school grounds in the Ulladulla area.
The Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research recently released a report stating the Shoalhaven was the worst area in NSW for incidents of drug offences on school grounds, with 22 in 2014.
That included nine incidents on school grounds in the Ulladulla area, eight in Nowra and five in Vincentia.
The group of intelligent and articulate students responded last week by questioning the BOCSAR figures, and also pointing to the school’s strengths that included many students taking responsibility for looking after others through doing things such as cooking toast in the morning for fellow students who had not eaten breakfast.
They also spoke passionately about the school’s focus on equity, and the way each students was given a chance to reach their full potential.
“This is a great school,” said school captain Jacob Williams.
Jacob has been particularly active in the field of drug education, addressing a recent ice forum in Ulladulla about setting up programs to examine whether ice use was a problem in the school, and then starting up education programs to inform students about the dangers of illegal drugs.
He spoke at the forum before the figures in drug offences in school grounds was made public.
Also pre-dating the report, and going since the beginning of the year, has been a series of regular police and youth service visits to be school as part of the drug education program.
Students and staff also questioned whether a more vigilant approach to stamping out drugs in the school, and reporting even minor breaches, had inflated the figures in the report above other schools and regions that had not been as active.
Parent Billie-May Ewings said the question was relevant as she believed the Ulladulla High School staff were “quite on top, aware and active in joining parents', the community and police in the fight to reduce students' access to drugs”.
“With that in mind, it makes me wonder if the reported cases would be dramatically reduced if that proactive, real and hardline approach was not adopted by the school and its leader?
“Is every other school of the same high standards and taking this same approach?
Based on the reported numbers just of the Shoalhaven high schools I think not,” Ms Ewings said.
Ulladulla High School P and C secretary Julie Ramsden noted, “The principal and student leaders have already been addressing how they can prevent students using drugs in a progressive, research based way.
“It is also clear that students will meet the consequences of their actions with formal reporting of drug incidents,” she said.
Shoalhaven Police Local Area Commander, Superintendent Joe Cassar, said the report was a clear sign drugs within NSW needed to be on everyone’s agenda.
“Drugs do not discriminate,” he said.
“It shows that whether in the home, on school grounds or public places, anyone is susceptible to it.
“I urge everyone to have those conversations with family and friends, work colleagues or peers about drugs and dangers,” Superintendent Cassar said.