Secondary pupils in East Kilbride got a hard-hitting lesson on the dangers of underage drinking in a bid to drive down alcohol consumption and harm amongst young Scots.
Calderglen and St Andrew’s and St Bride’s High School students welcomed international theatre production ‘Smashed’ which aims to educate pupils at a grassroots level about the causes and consequences of underage drinking.
Developed and presented by Collingwood Learning and supported by Diageo, the theatre troupe visited nine secondary schools across Glasgow this week.
Underage drinking in Scotland has been declining over the past decade. However, Scottish Government figures show a slight increase in rates of underage drinking since 2018.
But there is still more to be done to drive down the number of young people in Scotland drinking underage and to educate minors on the risks associated with alcohol misuse.
Each session featured a 25-minute dramatic performance, taking youths on a journey using live theatre.
A 35-minute interactive workshop followed which allowed students to reflect on vital underage drinking themes and answer questions about the choices made by the characters in the performance.
Smashed works in close collaboration with Community Alcohol Partnerships (CAPs), an organisation which brings together councils, police, retailers, schools, health providers and community groups across the UK to reduce alcohol harm among young people.
Running for over 17 years, its educational performances are delivered to students in over 20 countries around the world.
To date Smashed has reached over half a million students in the UK and look set to reach a further 9000 pupils over the course of this Scotland tour.
They have found that 81 per cent of students are less likely to drink alcohol underage as a result of watching Smashed; 80 per cent of students know where to get help about alcohol as a result of watching Smashed and 76 per cent of students feel equipped to make the right choices about drinking alcohol underage as a result of watching Smashed.
Local MP Dr Lisa Cameron attended the event to support its message.
She said: "It is great to support such an important workshop on underage drinking at our local schools as local MP and Chair of the Health All Party Parliamentary Group.
"The children were very engaged and I hope that all of our high schools are able to become involved and benefit from this programme."
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