Cocaine was found in the school bag of a five-year-old pupil at one of Scotland’s most prestigious private schools, The Scottish Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The Class A drug was discovered by staff at Glasgow Academy, motto Serva Fidem – ‘Keep the Faith’, which charges fees of up to £16,660 a year and has a roll of around 1600 students across three campuses.

School chiefs called in police and social services after the cocaine was discovered in a bag belonging to the pupil, who is believed to be only five years old.

The child’s parents were called to the school after the shocking incident. It happened several weeks ago, but details have just emerged.

A source close to the school said: ‘To say this revelation has rocked everyone in the school is an understatement. The main concern is for the child.

‘We dread to think what might have happened had the child accidentally tasted the substance or even shared it with others. The outcome could have been devastating. We all hope the school board and management team are taking the matter seriously.

Another concerned source said: ‘My first reaction was total shock. Everyone is asking how could this happen and what is being done to make sure it never happens again.’

Drug addiction experts say the incident should act as a ‘wake-up call’ over Scotland’s relationship with illicit substances.

Annemarie Ward, of addiction recovery charity FAVOR UK, said: ‘For too long, cocaine has enjoyed a strange social respectability in Britain. People who would never dream of injecting heroin or smoking crack think nothing of taking cocaine at weekends and dinner parties.

‘Somewhere along the way we stopped treating it as a dangerous drug and started treating it as a lifestyle accessory.’

She said ‘every line’ of cocaine supports crime and exploitation, and added that children often ‘pay the price for adult recklessness’.

Ms Ward said: ‘Schools, employers, politicians and public health agencies need to stop tiptoeing around the issue and start challenging the normalisation of cocaine use wherever it occurs.

‘A five-year-old child should never be carrying cocaine into a classroom.

‘If that image does not make us question our relationship with drugs as a society, it is hard to know what will.’

Scottish Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs said: ‘This deeply distressing incident hammers home the drug epidemic Scotland is facing.

‘It does not bear thinking about what might have happened if this child had ingested this dangerous substance.’

Glasgow Academy caters for children from the age of three to 18 years old, with the main campus based at Kelvinbridge in the city’s West End.

It also offers spots for younger children at campuses in Newlands in the south side of the city and Milngavie, in the north. Fees for primary-aged pupils start at £12,970 per year from next term, rising to more than £16,000 for sixth year secondary children.

According to the Scottish Health Survey, the number of adults using cocaine in the most affluent areas of the country has doubled in just two years, with figures rising from 2 per cent in 2021 to 4 per cent in 2023.

The figure for those in the second wealthiest areas has remained the same at five per cent.

Meanwhile, hospitalisations among middle-aged Scots for cocaine use has soared in the last five years, with the latest figures showing a rise from 447 to 555 in those aged 35 to 44 and from 192 to 315 in the 45 to 54 age group.

Cocaine is highly addictive and can cause temporary euphoric feelings. But users often need to use more of it each time to maintain the high.

It can also cause psychosis, paranoia, aggression, a heightened heart rate, overheating and elevated blood pressure, risking heart attacks, burst blood vessels or seizures.

A spokesman for Glasgow Academy said: ‘We do not comment on matters relating to individual children. Where any concern is raised, we act on it promptly and work closely with families and relevant authorities to keep every child in our care safe.’

Alcohol and Drugs Minister Maree Todd said the incident was ‘deeply concerning’ and that the Scottish Government continues ‘to take meaningful action to tackle drug harms’.