WINCHESTER College has denied that it is going soft on drugs by stopping automatic expulsion for pupils caught with them.

Reports at the weekend cited the boarding school, which has 700 pupils, as one which has dropped its hardline "zero tolerance" policy in the light of the government's downgrading of cannabis from a class b to class C drug - in a bid to save places in exam league tables. Head teacher Tommy Cookson said the 600-year-old school's stance was unchanged for many years. A pupil is not automatically expelled for a first offence but is always expelled if caught a second time.

He said the rules have recently been made clearer and pupils at the £22,000-a-year school are clearly told that they are not allowed to take drugs in the holidays.

Mr Cookson said today: "By having a strict policy we give boys the incentive and opportunity to say 'no'. The policy makes it perfectly clear to them that there are no excuses."

Anyone caught once is then subject to a urine-testing regime to encourage them to stay clear. Mr Cookson added: "You are allowed to make mistakes at school - that is what education is all about. But in this case you are not allowed to make the same mistake twice.

"We are of course very serious about drugs," said Mr Cookson, who was head of King Edward VI School in Southampton between 1990-96.