THE headteacher of one of the best known private schools in Scotland has denied parents pay to join a “social elite”.

Michael Spens, of Fettes College, in Edinburgh, where annual fees cost more than £25,000 for day pupils, said families were interested in the quality of education.

In an interview with pupils for society magazine Tatler, he said: “They are not paying to join a social elite. They are paying to get a first class education for their children.

“If I thought we were becoming a nursery for rich and privileged children to find their way up the social ladder I wouldn’t be doing this job.”

On the issue of bullying, he said it took many forms, was always unacceptable, but tended to be more mental than physical.

“Bullying is essentially unacceptable behaviour that is making an individual’s life unpleasant, unhappy, unbearable for whatever reason.

“It might be mental. Rarely in this day and age is it physical. Much more commonly it is unkindness. It is exclusive behaviour. It is people just not looking out for each other.

“It is uncharacteristic of Fettes, but it happens occasionally. We have a very clear anti-bullying policy and we don’t tolerate bullying within the community.”

Asked about expelling pupils, he said the use of drugs was a red line with the most recent case some male pupils who were removed for smoking cannabis.

He added: “We do bend over backwards to keep people within the community, but there are some absolutes. One absolute within a co-educational school is sexual misconduct and the other is misuse of prohibited substances.”

Mr Spens said parents had never asked him to turn a blind eye to incidents, but that families had sometimes “hinted” at preferential treatment and his response was always to say “No”.