Four students from the elite private school Scotch College have been suspended over an incident involving cannabis.

A spokesman for the Hawthorn school said the boys were “involved with marijuana on the school’s grounds”.

It is believed that cannabis paraphernalia was found after a search of the school's boarding houses.

The spokesman said that no students had been expelled, but four boys had been suspended and their places at the school were being reviewed, "which forms part of the school's normal procedure for serious incidents".

The extent of police involvement in the matter remains unclear.