The head of a school with the highest number of exclusions for drug and alcohol use in Oxfordshire said it did not mean his school had the most problems.

Ben Baxter, headteacher of the Cooper School, Bicester, said it was simply a reflection of the school's 'zero tolerance' stance.

Teachers at the school made 17 temporary exclusions last year for students smoking, drinking and taking drugs.

In total, Cooper excluded 105 pupils for a range of offences - including permanently expelling one pupil for criminal damage to school property. The temporary exclusions ranged in length from one to 15 days.

Mr Baxter, who took over as headteacher a year ago, said: "I purposely adopted a zero tolerance policy. Just because we appear to have the highest number of exclusion days (for banned substances) does not mean we have the worst problem."

On one occasion, he said, six students were suspended after smuggling alcohol into the school.

Mr Baxter said: "That was to get the message out very, very quickly. We need to be focused on our education and for that people need to be healthy and in a good place to learn."

He said he had increased numbers of staff on duty at lunchtime, which had in turn increased detection rates. He added: "All areas of the school site are patrolled and covered. There're no hidey-holes, we know what's going on."

About a third of exclusions were for verbal abuse to staff, while a further 25 per cent were for persistent disruption to lessons. About five per cent were for bullying, although earlier this year, parents and pupils said staff were not doing enough to tackle a gang of bullies known as 'The Boo Crew'.

Mr Baxter said: "Bullying covers a multitude of things from name calling through to physical assault. The school has a huge number of sanctions - detentions, internal isolations, conflict resolution with the community police officer."

Bicester Community College made just two temporary exclusions for banned substances during the same period.

But head Cynthia Bartlett said this did not mean her school was less tough. She said: "We might not necessarily give a fixed term exclusion. There are lots of other ways of maintaining clear standards."