Overview

• Irune Pedrayes alleges that in September 2019 senior pupils supplied her with mephedrone-laced vape liquid and alcohol on the school rugby pitch, triggering a three-day binge, hospitalisation and ongoing PTSD.
• Buckswood School maintains it met its duty of care through robust anti-drug policies, risk assessments and round-the-clock supervision in its boarding houses.
• Pedrayes’ legal team says her parents were informed only of vaping, not that she had been hospitalised for a Class B drug-induced psychotic breakdown.
• A 2019 Ofsted inspection highlighted student drug-use concerns at Buckswood and a 2023 Independent Schools Inspectorate report confirmed strengthened safeguarding measures.
• After a two-day High Court trial, Judge Geraint Webb KC has reserved his decision on her negligence claim, leaving the case pending and spotlighting boarding schools’ legal responsibilities.