Sociodemographic characteristics of students and schools according to illicit drug use
| Characteristics | Lifetime cannabis use | Cannabis last 30 days | Cannabis daily | Lifetime mephedrone use | Lifetime novel psychoactive substances use | |
| Students (n=18 939) | 4.8 (908) | 2.6 (502) | 0.7 (141) | 1.1 (214) | 1.5 (291) | |
| Gender | ||||||
| Male | 45.5 (8609) | 5.3 (454) | 2.7 (255) | 1.0 (90) | 1.5 (128) | 1.9 (161) |
| Female | 4.4 (454) | 2.4 (247) | 0.5 (51) | 0.8 (86) | 1.3 (130) | |
| Year group | ||||||
| Year 7 | 22.0 (4179) | 0.2 (10) | 0.2 (9) | 0.1 (4) | 0.3 (14) | 0.4 (17) |
| Year 8 | 21.4 (4051) | 1.3 (54) | 1.1 (44) | 0.4 (18) | 1 (39) | 1.1 (45) |
| Year 9 | 19.5 (3689) | 2.4 (89) | 1.3 (48) | 0.3 (12) | 0.8 (28) | 1.2 (46) |
| Year 10 | 19.3 (3656) | 7.8 (284) | 4.6 (169) | 1.2 (43) | 1.4 (53) | 1.8 (66) |
| Year 11 | 17.8 (3364) | 14.0 (471) | 6.9 (232) | 1.9 (64) | 2.4 (80) | 3.5 (117) |
| Ethnicity | ||||||
| White | 89.0 (16 848) | 4.6 (778) | 2.4 (409) | 0.6 (98) | 0.8 (143) | 1.2 (208) |
| Mixed race | 3.3 (630) | 7.1 (45) | 4.3 (27) | 0.9 (6) | 1.7 (11) | 2.9 (18) |
| Asian or British Asian | 3.8 (725) | 2.8 (20) | 1.7 (12) | 0.8 (6) | 1.5 (11) | 1.8 (13) |
| Black or black British | 1.4 (257) | 7.0 (18) | 5.1 (13) | 1.6 (4) | 3.9 (10) | 3.9 (10) |
| Chinese | 0.6 (122) | 27.9 (34) | 25.4 (31) | 16.4 (20) | 22.1 (27) | 24.6 (30) |
| Other | 1.9 (357) | 3.6 (13) | 2.8 (10) | 2.0 (7) | 3.4 (12) | 3.4 (12) |
| Family structure | ||||||
| Both parents | 64.7 (12 257) | 3.3 (399) | 1.7 (208) | 0.4 (45) | 0.7 (90) | 0.8 (99) |
| Single mother | 17.7 (3346) | 6.3 (212) | 3.4 (113) | 0.9 (30) | 1.2 (40) | 1.9 (64) |
| Single father | 2.5 (473) | 8 (38) | 4.6 (22) | 2.1 (10) | 1.5 (7) | 2.7 (13) |
| Parent and step-parent | 12.7 (2413) | 7.3 (177) | 4.4 (106) | 1.1 (26) | 1.6 (38) | 2.8 (68) |
| Foster parent | 0.9 (164) | 17.7 (29) | 11.6 (19) | 7.3 (12) | 11 (18) | 13.4 (22) |
| Other | 1.5 (286) | 18.5 (53) | 11.9 (34) | 6.3 (18) | 7.3 (21) | 8.7 (25) |
| FAS | ||||||
| Low income (7–11) | 5.5 (1043) | 7.3 (76) | 5.3 (55) | 3 (31) | 3.4 (36) | 4.2 (44) |
| Middle income (12–15) | 52.5 (9947) | 4.7 (471) | 2.3 (232) | 0.5 (52) | 1 (97) | 1.4 (138) |
| High income (16–19) | 42 (7949) | 4.5 (361) | 2.7 (215) | 0.7 (58) | 1 (81) | 1.4 (109) |
| FSM | ||||||
| 1 (<9%) | 27.7 (5245) | 4 (210) | 2.1 (108) | 0.5 (29) | 1 (54) | 1.6 (82) |
| 2 (9%–14.4%) | 20.8 (3929) | 5.3 (210) | 3.1 (123) | 0.9 (37) | 1 (38) | 1.5 (61) |
| 3 (14.5%–22.9%) | 23.6 (4475) | 5.1 (227) | 2.8 (125) | 0.8 (38) | 1.1 (49) | 1.4 (65) |
| 4 (23%–100%) | 27.9 (5290) | 4.9 (261) | 2.8 (146) | 0.7 (37) | 1.4 (73) | 1.6 (83) |
| WIMD | ||||||
| 1 (1–446) Most deprived | 21.6 (4096) | 5.2 (213) | 2.7 (112) | 0.7 (31) | 1.3 (52) | 1.6 (66) |
| 2 (447–1071) | 22.9 (4337) | 5 (219) | 3.1 (134) | 0.9 (40) | 1.2 (54) | 1.7 (73) |
| 3 (1072–1408) | 20.5 (3887) | 4.5 (174) | 2.4 (92) | 0.7 (26) | 0.8 (33) | 1.3 (52) |
| 4 (1409–1631) | 19.2 (3630) | 5.6 (205) | 3.2 (116) | 1 (36) | 1.2 (43) | 1.9 (69) |
| 5 (1632–1909) Least deprived | 15.8 (2989) | 3.2 (97) | 1.6 (48) | 0.4 (11) | 1.1 (32) | 1 (31) |
| Schools (n=66) | ||||||
| Have a substance-misuse policy | 95.5 (63) | 4.8 (877) | 2.6 (486) | 0.7 (138) | 1.1 (212) | 1.5 (282) |
| Student involvement in policy development | ||||||
| Student council consultation | 42.4 (28) | 5.2 (438) | 2.9 (249) | 0.9 (73) | 1.2 (99) | 1.7 (149) |
| Other student consultation | 18.2 (12) | 4.2 (179) | 2.3 (97) | 0.7 (29) | 1 (44) | 1.3 (56) |
| Use isolation | 80.3 (53) | 4.8 (702) | 2.7 (399) | 0.8 (114) | 1.3 (188) | 1.6 (231) |
| Referral pathway for drug using students | 93.9 (62) | 4.8 (870) | 2.7 (485) | 0.8 (137) | 1.1 (207) | 1.6 (282) |
All data are % (n).
All school data % are % of students in schools with a policy.
FAS, Family Affluence Scale; FSM, Free School Meal; WIMD, Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation.