Thirty-four per cent of 15- to 16-year-old girls either ate nothing or had only a drink before leaving for school in the morning.Girls prefer health products and low-fat spreads, whereas 30 per cent of boys eat chips or roast potatoes most days. There has been an enormous amount of denial in schools; heads are insistent that there is no problem.”Schools should adopt a realistic approach and acknowledge that most young people – although they are not necessarily all taking drugs – are increasingly exposed to the risk.”Girls are more likely to smoke and diet to starvation levels. Forty per cent of this age group had been offered cannabis.One-third of boys and 27 per cent of girls aged 15 to 16 have used cannabis, and 13 per cent of boys and 11 per cent of girls in this group have experimented with synthetic hallucinogens such as LSD.John Balding, director of the unit, which has been conducting the research for nine years, said: “Parents and schools need to know how close their child is to a source. About 70 per cent of 15- to 16-year-olds said they knew someone taking drugs and knew what they were taking, from tranquillisers to heroin and crack. Forty per cent of 15-to 16-year-olds said their parents did not know about their drinking.The report points out: “Many responsible parents often suggest drinking at home is an appropriate part of the process of bringing up children so that they use alcohol sensibly.”Children are also more likely to be exposed to illegal drugs.
Children are drinking much stronger beer than a decade ago, the survey of 48,292 pupils for the Schools Health Education Unit says.Sixty per cent of 11-year-old boys and 57 per cent of 11-year-old girls consumed alcohol at home In 20 per cent of cases their parents did not know. LESLEY GERARD
Drink, drugs and dieting play an increasing role in the lives of today’s 11- to 16-year-olds with more than 10 per cent of boys and 8 per cent of girls aged 15 to 16 drinking more than the recommended adult limit of 21 units a week for men and 14 for women.
Most under-aged drinking takes place at home and is starting from an earlier age. The prototype speaks Scottish Gaelic, but with an English accent. A native speaker is needed for the project to produce computer-generated speech.. Thomson may face manslaughter charge
Tour operator Thomson could be charged with corporate manslaughter over the death of a holidaymaker in Spain. Police are investigating the death from carbon monoxide poisoning of Janet Smith, 31, of Hornchurch, Essex..
Project blown out by lack of gaels
Dundee University has suspended development of a Gaelic-speaking computer because it cannot find a native Gaelic-speaking student for the project. . Hume says priests will keep celibacy vows
Cardinal Basil Hume yesterday reassured Catholics that priests would retain their vows of celibacy The pledge, by Catholic leader in England and Wales, follows Vatican approval for the ordination of ex-Anglican clergy Cardinal Hume said married priests in parishes raised “sensitive” issues, but stressed it was not a step toward allowing all priests to wed. Arthur Handy was engulfed by flames at a church in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, when he turned on a shed light after filling a lawn mower with petrol to prepare the churchyard for the wedding photographs. Trials of the US-made tags are being launched in Manchester and Norfolk amid strong criticism from probation officers and penal reform groups.. Lottery jackpot rolls over
The pounds 8.5m National Lottery jackpot prize is unclaimed and rolls over for next Saturday’s draw.
The winning numbers – which no one had – were: 5, 7, 8, 25, 44, 48, with the bonus number 3.. Church gardener killed in freak accident
A 70-year-old church gardener died after he was turned into a human fireball in front of wedding guests. Petty criminals to be put on tagging trial
Criminals as young 16 face the prospect of leaving court today with an electronic tag round their ankles. Meanwhile, petrol bombers launched three separate attacks in north and west Belfast No one was injured and there was no damage Two men were arrested.. Orange Order parade blocked by police
Police blocked an Orange Order parade from marching through a Republican area of south Belfast, where five Catholics were shot dead by loyalist gunmen three years ago. The protest over demands for higher pensions and lower taxes, has also stranded at least 10,000 holidaymakers, including some Britons, in ports around the country and virtually halted seaborne traffic between the mainland and the islands.. Hope for tourists stranded by Greek ferries
The Greek ferry strike looked set to end today.
Striking seamen have promised to return to work after a weekend of chaos, which saw truckloads of perishable goods destined for remote islands rotting in the sun. “He sounded just like that guy in Are You Being Served? Captain Peacock: that’s the one.”The pair are due in court in Los Angeles on 18 July.. Her response: “Who the hell is Hugh Grant?”He reminded her, she said, of a British television programme she had seen. But his was cute,” she said.She claimed they had oral sex in the car for 10 minutes before a police car pulled up and the pair were arrested.Ms Brown said she had no idea who her client was until she saw police congratulating each other. “If I was rating it out of 10 in terms of size and quality, I’d give it six I’ve seen bigger and I’ve seen smaller. She said of the Four Weddings and a Funeral star: “I thought he was going to die He put his hands up over his face and said: ‘Jesus I thought I was going to have a bloody heart attack Please don’t do things like that …