01 Mar LOCAL STUDENTS GET A DRAMATIC LESSON ON THE RISKS OF UNDERAGE DRINKING
Students from across Essex, get a hard-hitting lesson on therisks of underage drinking as part of an international programme reaching 135,000 students.
Witham MP, The Rt Hon Priti Patel praised the scheme saying:
“The more we can do to raise awareness of this issue, the less likely those children are to grow up facing health complications or problems associated with addiction.”
Students will watch a play about a group of friends who find themselves in trouble as a result of their misuse of alcohol. The performance is followed by an interactive workshopwhere pupils will be invited to probe the cast on any of the issues brought up during the play and explore the consequences portrayed by the actors.
Sir David Amess, MP for Southend West commenting after watching a school performance said:
“It’s important that we equip young people with the tools they need to make informed decisions in the future”
This performance is part of ‘Smashed’, an alcohol education and awareness programme sponsored by Diageo and delivered by Collingwood Learning. This year sees the tour appear in 90 UK schools over 9 weeks.
‘Smashed’ was developed in consultation with young people and has been designed to engage with pupils in a different way to typical school lessons. It combines the use of drama with an interactive workshops to help young people understand the facts, causes, and consequences surrounding alcohol misuse and the risks of underage drinking.
Mike Gapes, MP for Ilford South hailed the project as a huge benefit for his young constituents saying: “I am pleased to see that students in Ilford are being given the opportunity to learn about how to make the right choices for themselves in such an engaging way.”
The UK is making progress to reduce levels of underage drinking.
