School serves pupils beer to combat drinking problem

A TOP boys’ boarding school is beating secret binge drinking among students by hosting Saturday night drinks parties where beers are served to students.

The Benedictine order’s Glenstal Abbey, Co Limerick, has 200 boarders and annual fees are €10,850.

Past pupils include members of the judiciary and leading figures in the legal profession.

Each Saturday all sixth year students, who are 18 and over, can attend a drinks party known as ‘The Social’ where they sit, drink and chat with monks and house masters.

Each student is entitled to two cans.

School head, Brother Denis Hooper, said: “It is based on a German model and many of our students go to German and French colleges on exchange during transition year. In these countries a person can get drink at 16. And, in one of the boarding schools they go to, there is a bar for the students.”

Brother Hooper said at the social, which 20 to 30 boys attend and lasts for about an hour, a student is permitted to consume two cans of beer or lager.

“It helps inculcate a more mature attitude to alcohol,” said Brother Hooper.

“It kind of puts alcohol in context and shows that it is not about putting your head to a bottle and gulping until you finish it off to two seconds flat.

“Not all of the boys take alcohol, some have soft drinks. We chat about rugby and sport and anything.

“After the social they can watch a video before retiring. It has taken the sting out of the drinks issue here and it helps take out a lot of messing that might otherwise occur. We feel it is a very healthy approach and we have never had any problem due to the Saturday night social.”

He said the only problem on rare occasions was when a younger student ‘sneaks’ in alcohol to drink in the woods around the Abbey.