Drop in number of young drinkers and drug users

But one quarter of young people aged 11 to 15 have tried drugs at least once and the number of young people taking Class A drugs has not decreased since 2001.

And young people who drink are getting through on average six pints of beer or one and a half bottles of wine a week.

A survey of more than 7,800 pupils in England aged 11 to 15 found one in five admitted to drinking alcohol recently - down from more than one quarter in 2001.

Six per cent of pupils said they smoked regularly and ten per cent said they had taken drugs in the last month. This compared with 12 per cent in 2001.

The figures, from a survey carried out in 2007 on behalf of the Home Office and the NHS Information Centre for health and social care, also showed boys drank more alcohol than girls but girls were more likely to smoke regularly.

Four per cent of pupils said they had taken a Class A drug in the last year - a figure which has not changed since 2001.

Home Office minister Vernon Coaker said: "The vast majority of young people are on the right track. However we can never be complacent."

Separate figures from the British Crime Survey found drug use among 16 to 24-year-olds fell in the last year, from 24.1 per cent to 21.3 per cent.