Many of their students had done as well or better than those in schools whose pupils had to pass an 11-plus exam to get in.Keith Hayton, head teacher of Fulford School, said it was an ordinary local school, although it had become very popular and it now recruited from more than 20 primary schools.Its policy of taking the entire lower sixth on an outdoor pursuits course in the Yorkshire Dales in January had probably helped to boost their scores, he said. Only 10 state schools, all of them selective, did better.
The Independent contacted 200 top state comprehensive schools yesterday for their results. A neighbourhood comprehensive school in York has beaten 150 of Britain’s top grammar schools in a survey of this year’s best A-level results. Pupils at Fulford School achieved grades equivalent to an average of two As and a C in this year’s exams. “If you want to drink your cheeky wee beaujolais you will have to go to one of the areas we are happy to license in the city centre.”He said the behaviour of people drinking in streets and parks was a nuisance to residents and shopkeepers, and often a “repeating nightmare” among football supporters on their way to matches.Since January this year, according to police records, drink-related violent crime in Glasgow has soared: in city centres it is up by 50 per cent.Mr Coleman added: “The problem isn’t confined to youngsters. Adults who should know better are often the worst offenders.”But there is a particular difficulty in many areas where youths are loitering and drinking in a way that is threatening, particularly to the elderly. “We want to give these streets back to the decent people who live there.”Pilot bans were launched in three areas of Scotland – Motherwell, Galashiels and Dundee – in 1989 and have since spread to a total of 14 areas, including Glasgow.In Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, where similar by-laws were introduced last year, the legislation is being used as a launchpad for an overall police crackdown on street crime, vandalism, loitering and assault.This, say police, has resulted in a 46 per cent drop in violent crime, a 21 per cent reduction in theft and attempted theft from cars, and a 7 per cent cut in vandalism, fireraising and malicious mischief..

Offenders face a fine of up to pounds 500.The city’s growing cafe-bar society will be exempt, providing drinkers do not stray far from the tables.”I don’t see any difference between somebody in the West End drinking beaujolais and somebody in the East End drinking Buckfast (strong wine),” said James Coleman, chairman of the city’s licensing board. It will be the first city in Scotland to operate such a ban in public places, although others have launched partial curbs. In England, a similar ban has been in place in Coventry city centre since 1988.
The new move was welcomed by police who said that in other parts of Scotland, similar but smaller bans have cut violent crime and public disorder.Coupled with the ban, a proof-of-age identity card scheme will be also extended to all 1,500 licensed premises in an attempt to cut under-age drinking.The ban will apply equally to people sipping glass of wine in the park as those knocking back cans of strong lager. Certainly, there has been an increase in teenagers having tried these things. Possibly the explanation is that availability has increased, particularly of cannabis, and if something is there a teenager will try it.”. Glasgow, a city which is renowned for its hard drinking, will start a blanket ban on open-air alcohol consumption from Monday, civic leaders announced yesterday.

Among pupils claiming above-average performance, only 20 per cent said they had smoked on 40 or more occasions, compared with 44 per cent who reported below average perfor- mance. Similar differences were found for most forms of drug use for both sexes in all regions.Commenting on the findings, Dr Miller said: “A lot of what we are seeing is youthful experimentation, but it is high. I don’t think it would be right to describe it as delinquency. Few had tried hard drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, but 7 per cent of girls and 9 per cent of boys had experimented with ecstasy.