A minister's plea for schools to think twice before expelling a pupil found with drugs has won backing in Bradford.

Schools Minister Estelle Morris said that unless they are caught trafficking - when exclusion should be automatic - schools should always consider children's welfare and education alongside punishment.

Her comments have won a degree of approval among educationalists in the district who say flexibility in school is everything.

John Lewis, principal of Dixons CTC, said it was a question of maintaining a balance between the individual and the community.

"Our view is that it is sensible to deal with a child on an individual basis.

"If it was a situation were there were people involved in trafficking of drugs or selling to our students, then it would be an automatic exclusion.

"If someone had an amount which was clearly for personal use, it would depend on the circumstances.

"It would depend on whether there were previous circumstances which would make it more serious."

Tony Thorne, head teacher of Hanson School, agreed with his colleague over the need for balance.

"Dealing is a different issue and the law would take a different view.

"But if someone has a small amount you can't say what you would do because it may be that the drug-taking is the tip of the iceberg and is a symptom of something else, like being violent to other students, for which you may have to exclude."

The head teacher of fee-paying Bradford Grammar School, Stephen Davidson, said the school took a stern line with drugs.

If a boy was found in possession of a banned substance, he would be automatically suspended, pending an investigation.

"Anyone found supplying will inevitably go and those who are in possession may be allowed to stay subject to a final warning."

The policy was reflective of the law of the land which punishes dealers more harshly than those in possession of drugs for personal use, said Mr Davidson.

Bradford's Education Committee chairman, Councillor Jim Flood, said excluding a child from school for drug-taking could put them at more risk by removing the guidance of teachers.

It could also simply shunt a problem from one school to another.

Zero tolerance was not a phrase that should be applied to schools, he said.

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