BII Certificate in Alcohol Awareness

The British Institute of Innkeeping is promoting its new Certificate of Alcohol Awareness as part of a drive to reduce binge drinking, but the certificate is accredited within the subject area of hospitality and catering, and according to the leaflet describing the course, it will give pupils “an insight into the exciting opportunities of a career in the hospitality industry.”

BBIAB, the awarding body of the British Institute of Innkeeping, has launched a Certificate in Alcohol Awareness for 13-16 year-olds. Teaching materials and a 25- question multiple choice exam will be available to teachers for inclusion in PSHE, a non-statutory part of the national curriculum.

The certificate is part of the BII Schools Hospitality Project, which provides materials for teachers via a website. The materials are designed to be teacher-friendly, requiring minimum preparation for use in the classroom. The website even provides a school newsletter item for informing parents about the alcohol awareness classes.

The course is accredited within the hospitality and catering sector at level 1 of the National Qualifications Framework. This is the same level as a GCSE graded D to G. The course takes 10 hours of class time, but no information was available on what fraction of a GCSE the certificate is equivalent to.

According to the BIIAB leaflet, the certificate is “the first step on the ladder to a career in hospitality,” and can lead on to other qualifications offered by the organisation. These include a level 1 Award in Responsible Alcohol Retailing and a level 2 National Certificate for Personal License Holders.

What will schoolchildren learn about?
The certificate covers two areas, responsible drinking and the hospitality industry.However, the emphasis given to these two strands varies depending on the source of information. The school newsletter item provided by BIIAB is headed, “Pupils learn about the dangers of alcohol.” In contrast, another section of their website is aimed at potential sponsors of the project, and states, “Our aim is to educate young people about the importance of the UK's hospitality sector and the many career paths it offers. In the process, we also encourage responsible attitudes towards alcohol.”

The Schools Hospitality Project website provides teaching materials including a number of simple quizzes. The ‘Hospitality Matters 1’ leaflet promises to help its readers “learn about alcohol and the problems which arise when it is misused,” as well as learning about the hospitality industry. The first quiz in the leaflet gives half sentences which can be recombined to make sentences such as, “Millions of foreign tourists visit the UK each year,” and “The Houses of Parliament have passed strict laws on the sale of alcohol.”

Other quizzes do not mix alcohol and tourism information in this way.However, a quiz called, ‘Mix the drinks,’ does mix alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. It is introduced with the statement that, “People need to drink a lot of liquid to remain healthy,” then requires pupils to unscramble “some of the most common drinks.” The list of twenty anagrams includes seven alcoholic drinks, but there is no mention of the fact that alcohol does not contribute to a healthy intake of liquid.

Publicity for the new certificate
Publicity surrounding the launch of the Certificate in Alcohol Awareness has focused exclusively on the responsible drinking aspect of the course. In a press release, John McNamara, BII Chief Executive said,“We have been working on this project for many months and it has been developed in response to governmental pressure on underage sales and consumption but tackles the topic from a positive, educational angle,” and on the BII website he is quoted as saying, “Education is key to changing young peoples’ attitudes to alcohol and hopefully will take a step towards tackling the binge drinkers of tomorrow.”

News reports followed the tone of the press release. The Times used the headline, ‘Make mine a half – GCSE pupils learn lessons of safe drinking,’ and reported that, “Teenagers will soon be able to sit an exam in sensible drinking as part of a drive to deal with binge drinking.” The article includes a number of quotes relating to the knowledge pupils will gain about the effects of alcohol. It also gives five sample exam questions, relating to sensible drinking guidelines, the effects of alcohol on the body and the law. None refers to hospitality and catering, nor is there any mention in the article that the certificate is accredited within the field of hospitality and catering.