St Stephens College principal says incident unrelated to overdose at same school last year

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Two teenage boys have been taken to hospital on the Gold Coast after a suspected drug overdose, the second such incident at the same private school in 18 months.

The students, both 15, at St Stephens College at Upper Coomera, are suspected to have taken a parent’s prescription pain relief medication.

The school’s principal, Jamie Dorrington, sent a letter to parents on Wednesday afternoon that said the incident was “not related” to a mass overdose in February last year, when seven students were rushed to hospital, some in a critical condition.

“This morning a senior school student took some prescription medication belonging to a parent. The medicine made him vomit,” Dorrington said in the letter.

“He was attended by the college nurse and, as a precaution, an ambulance was called. We have been advised that the boy will be fine.

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“A friend of the boy may also have taken some of the medicine and we have taken steps to reassure ourselves and their parents that both boys are fine.”

Paramedics arrived at the school about 11am and said both boys were in a stable condition when they were taken to hospital.

Dorrington told parents “the media have already jumped on this story and tried to make links with events from last year” but that there was no connection with the February 2o18 incident.

On that occasion the Year 10 students were suspected to have taken a powdered anti-anxiety and insomnia drug, Phenibut, purchased from the dark web. Those students were later expelled from the school.

St Stephens recently held a drug information session for parents and carers.

Police are also investigating the most recent incident.