Objective

To enable pupils to understand the facts, causes, and consequences surrounding alcohol misuse.

To break the culture of underage drinking.

To reduce alcohol related harm among young people.

To help young people develop responsible attitudes towards alcohol.

Description

About: Smashed is Diageo’s flagship global theatre-in-education programme aims to break the culture of underage drinking and reduce alcohol-related harm among young people around the world.  Diageo has been the sponsor of the Smashed Project since its inception in 2004. 

Collingwood Learning developed the programme in consultation with pupils and has executed it independently ever since.  It was designed to engage with pupils in a different way to typical school lessons to help them understand the facts, causes, and consequences of alcohol misuse and the risks of underage drinking.  The hope is that pupils would be equipped to deal with peer pressure and to make informed choices.

It is aimed at high school pupils aged 12-16.  The programme is comprised of:

• A hard-hitting live theatre performance: A team of actors deliver the hour-long performance which follows a group of friends who get in trouble after misusing alcohol.
• An interactive workshop: The performance is followed by a 40-minute-long interactive workshop which includes activities and exercises.  A question-and-answer session looks at making the right choices and the consequences of not.  Pupils are invited to probe the cast on any of the issues brought up during the play and explore the consequences portrayed by the actors.
• Teaching materials and evaluation: Teaching resources and video clips from the performance are available for teachers to use as follow up.

Endorsements:

• In England the project forms a key part of schools Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) curriculum, has been endorsed by the UK government and was recognised at a parliamentary reception at the House of Commons in 2016.
• In Belfast, Northern Ireland the project is directly linked to the Learning for Life and Work Curriculum and endorsed by the CCEA (Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment).  Additionally, Diageo held a parliamentary reception in the House of Commons to present Smashed in 2016. 

Extension: In 2017, the programme was extended overseas.  Countries include Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Italy, Indonesia, Jamaica, Mozambique, Nigeria, Peru, Taiwan, Thailand, the USA and Vietnam.

Digital: In 2020, the programme was extended online and is called “Smashed Online”.  Smashed Online is a 60 – 90-minute course that uses filmed episodes from the Smashed story combined with interactive activities.  Teachers can simply share the Smashed Online link with pupils, who can sign up individually.  It is simple to use, and pupils can complete the episodes and save their work, returning to it at any time.  A certificate can be downloaded on completion.  There is also a guide for teachers. 

Aim: Diageo’s aim is to educate over 10 million people on the dangers of drinking underage through the programme by 2030.

Partners

Collingwood Learning

Results

UK: In its first year, Smashed reached around 15,000 pupils in 75 schools.  It has since reached 415,000 pupils in 2,115 schools across the UK, reaching 60,000 in over 2,000 schools in 2022 alone.

Northern Ireland: Smashed first went to Northern Ireland in February 2016 and since then has visited 150 schools across all education authority areas.  The 20,000-pupil milestone was marked at the end of 2018. 

Europe: Smashed visited has visited more than 209 schools across five different countries, reaching over 42,000 pupils, including in Greece, Hungary and Italy.

World: Smashed was launched in 12 countries reaching 135,000 pupils in 2017.  As of 2022, it is run in 26 countries in six continents and 1.8 million pupils have been reached.  In 2022 alone, it educated 607,374 pupils in 15 countries.

Online: In 2020, the online programme was made available to over one million pupils aged 12-14 across 5,500 schools in the UK. As of 2022, it was available in 16 countries, including the UK, Poland and Portugal.

Recognition: In 2022, having kicked off the season with two gold awards for Smashed Online at the EVCOM Clarion Awards, for both the Innovation and Education & Training categories, the programme continued to be recognised for their fantastic work – the full list of awards are:

• The Drum Awards: Won Best Responsible Digital Engagement with Kids and Teens
• Digital Impact Awards: Won Gold for:
• Digital from the Food and Beverage Sector
• Best Use of Digital to Aid a CSR Campaign
• Best Use of Online Video
• Grand Prix – Overall Winners of the Digital Impact Awards 2022
• Learning Technologies Awards: Won Silver for Best Learning Technologies Project – public and non-profit
• Cannes Corporate Awards: Finalists, Corporate Social Responsibility Category

Measurement & evaluation

The latest results (2019) showed:

• 95% of pupils said they understood more about the dangers of underage drinking;
• Pupils who knew the legal age for buying alcohol in their country increased from 78% to 94%
• 86% of pupils demonstrated confidence in where to get help with alcohol-related issues after the programme (an increase of 33%)
• 81% of pupils are less likely to drink alcohol as a result of Smashed.
• 15% said the most important thing they learnt was to challenge peer pressure. 

2018 results showed:

• A 44% increase in the percentage of pupils who felt they knew a lot about the dangers of alcohol misuse;
• Pupils who knew the legal age for buying alcohol increased from 80% to 98%
• Pupils who understand the term peer pressure increased by 20%.

Website

http://smashedproject.org/

Downloads

Videos

Photo gallery

Documents