Middle-class parents smoke cannabis with their children

MIDDLE-CLASS parents are smoking cannabis with their children because they prefer them to experiment at home, a leading headmistress has said.

Helen Pike, who is master of the £19,000-a-year Magdalen College School in Oxford, said it was becoming more common for parents to host teenage house parties because they “see their children as friends”.

She said some parents were “not only happy for their children to have a drink or few at home” but will also “offer them a joint”.

“They grew up doing it, they still enjoy a smoke, and don’t see the problem with it,” she said.

Ms Pike, who was previously headmistress at South Hampstead High School, said the trend was “quite unusual” and “more of a north London thing”.

“I don’t feel you should be experimenting with drugs – but not all parents feel the same as you do, and some parents might be OK with it,” she said.

“It is something other parents might want to be aware of. They might want to talk to their children about it and find out what they are doing at their friends’ houses.”

Ms Pike, who is the first female master in Magdalen College School’s 550year history, said that in her day there was “was a culture of under age drinking and going to clubs”.

But nowadays, the “house party scene” was much bigger than it used to be because parents were more willing to accommodate them. She said that in her generation, teenagers “got up to all sorts of things, but we didn’t expect our parents to host these events and provide the refreshment”.

Ms Pike said that most parents now regard teen parties as a “necessary evil”, adding: “The most obvious reason is that if your children are going to socialise, it’s better to have them under your roof than out on the town.

“If the alternatives are fake IDs or drinking in bus shelters, then coming to some sort of domestic arrangement feels infinitely preferable. If teenagers are going to experiment, perhaps it’s better they do so on your watch.”

Ms Pike, whose children are aged 25, 23 and 21, said her experience as both a teacher for two decades as well as a parent has made her feel like a “veteran” of house parties.

In a “Teenage Party Guide”, published on Telegraph.co.uk, she lists a series of recommendations for parents which includes understanding your children’s privacy setting on social media to make sure invitations are not “going to half the planet”.

Ms Pike advised parents to consider being the barman and serving drinks all night as a way to moderate alcohol consumption.

She added that going away for the weekend and leaving your children to have a party in your absence is the worst possible option.

Magdalen College School, which was founded in 1480 to train chorister boys, now educates boys aged four to 18 and admits girls in the sixth form.