British Educator Calls Testing Program a Success

Peter Walker, former headteacher of the Abbey School in Faversham, England.

Peter Walker is not the type to sit idly by and wait for others to find solutions. Beneath that jovial, self-effacing manner and soft English accent lies an iron determination. “In this world,” the longtime educator told a group of ONDCP staffers and guests during a recent visit, “if you think there’s a problem and you can do something about it—you do it.”

Before stepping down last spring as headteacher (headmaster) of the Abbey School in Faversham, Kent County, England, Walker took his own advice to heart. He knew about the problem of drug abuse, about how drugs create barriers to education, burden society, and destroy young lives. So in a bold and historic move, he did something about it.

Early last year, Walker launched the first random student drug testing program at a public school in the United Kingdom. The program is open to all students but is entirely voluntary; both the student and parents must give their consent before testing can occur. And though more research must be done to determine the program’s full impact, Walker needs no further convincing. For him, the signs of success are everywhere.

The numbers
Walker spent nearly a year developing the testing program, consulting with students, parents, teachers, staff, government officials, local police, and others. “I was overwhelmed by the support,” he said. Particularly encouraging was the response of parents: 86 percent gave permission for their children to be tested.

From the time testing began in January 2005 until last spring, 600 of the nearly 1,000 students at the Abbey School had been tested for drug use (using the oralfluids method). Only four refused when their names were called. And of all the samples tested that first year, just one was positive for drug use.

Academic achievement
When the testing program began, Walker went on record with his belief that examination results would improve within the first year. It was a risky prediction, he said, “because in the UK, if a school doesn’t meet its targets, the headteacher is the first to go.” At year’s end, however, he was able to report that the exam results were not only the best in the school’s history, they beat out the previous record by a remarkable ten percent.

Reduced crime
Levels of crime, too, have plunged since testing began, Walker said. Last winter, a policeman came to his office and asked why crime rates at Abbey School had dropped below those at the other area schools within the past year. Walker wouldn’t go so far as to claim that drug testing alone was responsible for the decline. “But,” he said, “I will claim that drug testing might have had an influence.”

Improved morale
And then there are the intangible signs of success. Morale, for instance, has improved noticeably throughout the school since testing began, Walker said. When the program was announced, more than half of the staff agreed to make themselves eligible for testing—“and they weren’t even asked.”

As for the students, they not only accept the program, Walker said, “They support it. They want it. They believe in it, and they’re proud of it.” For one thing, he continued, testing gives them a way to resist what he called the greatest motivation for taking drugs in the first place: peer pressure. Fear of being called up for a drug test gives students a convenient excuse to say no to drugs, he said. “If they can come up with their own reasons that their peer group will accept, you’re on a winner.”

A drug testing program, Walker explained, also shifts some of the emphasis away from the students who may be using drugs and focuses needed attention on those who strive to avoid them. From the start, he set out to achieve two main goals through drug testing. The first was to prevent drug use before it begins—by far the cheapest and most effective way to combat substance abuse.

The second main goal was to improve the quality of life for kids who choose not to take drugs. Indeed, gaining the cooperation of the non-using majority of students is vital to the program’s success. “That’s the trick,” said Walker. One day last fall, he overheard a student telling a visiting reporter that she welcomed the program. With drug testing, she explained, “the kids now feel that they’re being protected. They’re feeling valued.”

Any good drug-prevention program requires what Walker calls a “total package” of student support. “Do it in isolation,” as he put it, “and you’re on a loser.” It is pointless to address substance abuse only occasionally or halfheartedly, such as during “drug awareness month,” he said. Instead, it has to be part of a package that encompasses broad aspects of the students’ lives, from academics and health education to sexual and financial matters.

Looking ahead
The Abbey School’s drug testing program has become a catalyst for big changes in England. Prompted by its success, the government is rolling out a pilot drug testing program this fall for all schools in Kent. If all goes well, the plan is to extend drug testing to schools throughout the country. Walker, meanwhile, though retired as headteacher, remains nonetheless an educator, actively spreading the word as a government-appointed ambassador for random drug testing. “I’m not an evangelist,” he said, “and I’m not selling anything. But I believe this can make a difference to young people.”

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