Ivybridge College uses sniffer dogs to search for drugs
The headmaster of a Devon school has defended using ten police officers and a sniffer dog to search pupils following rumours about drugs.
Ivybridge Community College searched 2,000 students but no drugs were found.
Rob Haring, school principal, said: "It was a very quick operation, we wanted to check a rumour and there was nothing substantive in it."
Vicky King, a parent, said she thought it could have been handled better.
She said: "I was quite shocked. I would have preferred to have known."
Mr Haring said: "It's about education, about students being informed and knowing what's right and what's wrong and there being a very clear message that we won't tolerate things that aren't right.
"It certainly wasn't mob-handed."
Ten police officers, teachers and a sniffer dog were involved in the unannounced search on Friday.
Philip, a teacher at a Plymouth school who did not provide his surname, said: "As a parent and teacher and being a recovered alcoholic and drug addict this is a necessary way to deal with the problem."
It is the second time this year the search has been carried out at the school. The first resulted in action being taken against a student.
Sgt John Livingstone from Ivybridge Police Station added: "It was a one off and there's not the intelligence to suggest that it would warrant it [again]."