THE parents of a 10-year-old boy interrogated by a head teacher for nearly two hours over claims of drugs abuse have slammed the private school's bosses.

Peter Brodie, head of Glasgow Academy, was reprimanded by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), which also strongly recommended he takes lessons on how to interview children "so that their best interests are observed".

But the boy's family were angered by the school's response to the reprimand which they said failed to recognise the "seriousness" of the punishment. They accused the £9000-a-year school, where the late former First Minister Donald Dewar was a pupil, of arrogance.

The boy's family, who reiterated that he was cleared of any drugs claims, said: "It is fascinating to read the spin put on this case by the school's board of governors and by the sheer arrogance of its complacency.

"It does not appreciate the seriousness of a reprimand, which will be on Mr Brodie's record for years.

"Mr Brodie's admission of guilt also discredits what the governors said in their previous letter to parents that the rector denies the charge of misconduct'."

Gordon Jack, chairman of the board of governors, wrote to the parents of all the school's pupils: "You may have seen reports that the GTCS has concluded its investigation into a complaint against Peter Brodie by issuing the lowest of its sanctions, a reprimand."

It went on to say: "We have complete confidence in Peter Brodie and his management team."

Robbie Burnett, of the GTCS, said the boy had been psychologically damaged by the "extremely distressing" incident.