�鶹��

Prime is one of the most popular and fashionable soft drinks around, but Newsround has learned that some schools have been sending out warnings about it and, in some cases, banning it altogether.

So what's going on - and why is the drink accused of making things difficult for pupils, parents and teachers?

"Prime bottles can be a major distraction to lessons as children are removing themselves from their lessons to be seen drinking with the Prime branded bottles," said one school.

And they're not alone in expressing concerns.

Let us know in the comments below if your teachers have said anything about Prime in class or in assemblies and if there are any special rules in place at your school.

What is Prime?

If you haven't tried it, you would have seen it - in shops, advertised at football games or scrolling through social media.

The drink brand was created by famous YouTubers KSI and Logan Paul and first hit UK supermarkets in June 2022, with eight flavours and no age limit - meaning it was safe for children to drink.

Sold as a 'hydration drink', the price of a bottle was around £2 in supermarkets like Asda, Aldi and Sainsbury's but it was very difficult to find and shops quickly sold out.

When it came out it was all over social media but super-hard to get hold of and some people had to queue for hours... and pay lots of money... to get it .

Its rarity added to the hype and having a bottle was seen as a win - and a way of showing off a bit.

This led to people taking advantage of the craze, and selling the bottles for a lot more than they actually cost.

One drink shop even stocked limited edition Prime Hydration flavours for £1,000 a bottle. One person bought 12 of the rare bottles!

Prime Hydration vs Prime Energy

A second version - Prime Energy - was also launched in the UK in 2023, but that isn't for kids.

It contains a lot of caffeine and on the back of the can it says "not recommended for children under 18 years of age".

However, some health professionals have warned that the two bottles look too much alike, which they argue could cause confusion.

What are schools saying about Prime?

As well as being popular with adults, Prime is very popular with kids - but that's not always been good news for schools, as they say it can cause problems in the playground.

It's been very difficult to get schools and teachers to talk to Newsround about this openly, as they say they don't want to draw any more attention to the drink.

Some schools already don't allow fizzy drinks, and in many schools the only drink you're allowed to bring in is water.

But Newsround has spoken to headteachers and learned that schools have been making new rules around Prime, and some have even gone as far as banning it.

We've seen newsletters and texts which have been sent to parents, making it clear how individual schools feel about Prime.

One headteacher told Newsround that as the drink can be expensive, they don't want students to feel pressured into spending lots of money buying it, especially during the current cost of living crisis.

Another school banned Prime claiming it was getting in the way of children's learning.

Newsround also heard that some schools raised problems with students bringing in bottles of Prime and selling it to their classmates for a much higher price than they paid, to make some extra money.

Other schools have banned pupils from using the empty Prime bottles, or removed the Prime packaging from bottles being refilled with other drinks, like water.

Health was also one of the main reasons some schools say they have banned Prime.

Milton Primary School texted parents warning them about the different versions of Prime after it said a pupil fell ill after drinking the energy drink that's only meant to be sold to adults.

What do KSI and Logan Paul say?

When the rumours first started that schools were banning Prime, KSI seemed to be annoyed.

On social media, he called it "wrongdoing" and offered to send a "truckload" of Prime to schools doing it.

However, he has also acknowledged that, as Prime is hard to get hold off, that can cause problems.

Speaking about people buying the drink and then selling it on for more than it actually cost to buy, he told the �鶹��: "I genuinely hate it. I hate the reselling. I hate it. I want everyone to have Prime at a reasonable price.

"It's just taking advantage of people because of the hype - and it's not fair."

Newsround got in touch with the Prime team to ask them what they think about schools banning the drink, but at the moment they haven't responded to us about it.