College’s rule on drinking to change

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32798, 24 December 1971, Page 1

College’s rule on drinking to change

The rule forbidding pupils at Christ’s College to drink alcohol at any time will be changed next year to allow pupils more freedom while they are under parental control.

This was said yesterday by the headmaster (Mr A. M. Brough) when commenting on a survey held recently hy the college newspaper which showed that 95 per cent of the pupils questioned drink alcohol. Five per cent of those who were asked said they did not drink. The survey represented a fair indication of student opinion, Mr Brough said. It was completed by 400 of the college’s 580 pupils and covered a reasonable cross-sec-tion of pupil age groups, as well as day boys and boarders. Mr Brough said that the

figures tended to bear out the opinion of parents. This he had gained from speaking to groups of parents during the year. “It is perfectly clear that the majority of parents-have been happy with their sons drinking m moderation,” b« said. The survey showed that Only 2 per cent of parents forbid their sons to drink, while in contrast 80 per cent of parents were against their sons smoking. Less than 40 per cent of the pupils said that they smoked. "I doubt that this figure would'have been as low 20 years ago," Mr Brough said. Mr Brough said that it was better to educate people to be sensible about alcohol than to ban it and thus drive it underground. “I think the pupils* response to the questions on alcohol is indicative of a general trend in society, because subconsciously many responsible adults are influenced by the inherent dangers of total prohibition."