ONE of the teenage girls expelled from school after being caught taking ecstasy tablets has been allowed back to lessons.

All Saints' RC School in York permanently excluded two girls, who are 13 or 14-years-old, and head teacher Bill Scriven said it had been an "extremely difficult decision" to make.

But following a governor's disciplinary hearing, the governors decided to reinstate one girl, who started back at school a week ago.

The girl asked to address her peers in Year 9 in a special assembly and has the support of her parents.

Mr Scriven originally suspended the pair for five and seven days and extended their suspensions to 17 days over the Easter holidays.

The school also held a meeting for parents on drug education where the local authority drugs consultant, Clare Barrowman, gave a presentation advising parents on the signs and symptoms they should look for.

This gave parents the opportunity to meet senior staff following the incident where the two Year 9 girls were taken home from school and subsequently excluded. Both girls became distressed and started crying in school on March 21, and their fellow pupils told teachers they thought they had been taking drugs.

One of the girls admitted straight away that she had taken pills, and a search of her locker turned up seven tablets. The school called police and the parents of both girls. On May 1, The Press reported Mr Scriven as saying he viewed drug- taking extremely seriously, and had not made the decision lightly.

"It's been an extremely difficult decision, but regretfully we feel this is the right course of action and both the girls' parents have been informed," he said.

"I think it's important to take time and not react in the heat of the moment, but I have consulted widely and had support from parents, colleagues and pupils throughout.

"The impressive way in which the pupils responded to this in reporting it so quickly and their shocked reaction gives me a lot of confidence that this was an isolated incident."

In a letter sent out to parents this week he said: "The governors' decisions were to uphold one of the permanent exclusions and to reinstate the other student. In my view, in light of the evidence presented at the hearing, the correct decisions were reached.

"The governors continue to have my complete support and utmost respect."

All Saints' caters for 1,102 pupils on a split site at Nunnery Lane and Mill Mount.

A spokesman for York Police said no charges had been brought against either girl as both had agreed to attend a drugs referral scheme to learn about the dangers of taking drugs.

Updated: 11:08 Monday, May 15, 2006