School bans Red Bull energy drink after it 'disrupts classes'

A school has banned Red Bull after staff reported a rise in bad behaviour by students who had drunk the high-energy drink, the school's head teacher said today.

Teachers at Chatsmore Catholic High School in Worthing, West Sussex, say there had been a noticeable increase in "inappropriate behaviour" after pupils downed the drinks before lessopns.

They were reported as being noisier, late for lessons and refused to listen to instructions.

Acting head Anne Ward said Red Bull and the Tesco-branded Kick high energy drinks had now been banned from its grounds in a move to head off an escalation in bad behaviour.

She said today: "We found that a small number of children's behaviour was less appropriate after they had been drinking these drinks.

"We were becoming increasingly concerned about the level of inappropriate behaviour so decided to take action before it becomes a bigger issue.

"If they want to drink these drinks outside of school then that is an issue for their parents but we would rather they didn't while at school.

"We advocate drinking of water and indeed we allow pupils to drink water during lessons because it has been proven to help hydration."

Well-known for its slogan "Red Bull gives you wings", each can contains 80mg of caffeine - about the same amount as a cup of coffee.

It is said to improve performance, boost concentration and reaction speed, vigilance, and stimulate metabolism.

In a statement, Red Bull said: "Red Bull can be drunk at the same age that it is suitable to drink coffee or other caffeinated beverages.

"People have different sensitivity to caffeine, the daily consumption of Red Bull Energy Drink should conform to a person's intake of caffeine and the same is true for children.

"However, in general children are more sensitive to caffeine than adults, this is why we do not recommend Red Bull Energy Drink to caffeine-sensitive individuals including children."