The petition of residents of the constituency of Orpington,
Declares that bootleg alcohol poses a considerable danger to tourists and has, tragically, resulted in deaths in countries including Laos, Turkey and Vietnam.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to ensure that children and young people are taught about the dangers of consuming bootleg alcohol as part of the PSHE or biology curriculum in schools.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Gareth Bacon, Official Report, 29 January 2026; Vol. 779, c. 1136.]
[P003160]
Observations from the Minister for School Standards (Georgia Gould): The tragic deaths caused by methanol poisoning are a reminder of the risks that young people can face, and they reinforce the Department’s commitment to helping ensure that all young people are equipped with the knowledge they need to stay safe, including in relation to alcohol.
The statutory guidance for health education requires all pupils in state-maintained schools to be taught the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and the associated risks to physical and mental wellbeing, including smoking, alcohol use and drug taking.
The revised RSHE—relationships, sex and health education—statutory guidance, published on 15 July 2025, states that by the end of secondary school, pupils should understand how to increase personal safety while drinking alcohol, including how to decrease the risks of having a drink spiked or of poisoning from potentially fatal substances such as methanol. The guidance can be found here:
Pupils should be taught that there are some legal substances that people sometimes misuse and that any substance used for purposes other than those intended can be dangerous and could even cause death. This complements content about substances within the national curriculum for science.
The updated RSHE guidance includes a new section on personal safety. Curriculum content includes how to identify risk and manage personal safety in increasingly independent situations, including in unfamiliar social or work settings—for example, the first time a young person goes on holiday without their parents.
The Government commissioned Oak academy to make lesson materials that reflect the new guidance freely available. Oak academy’s newest RSHE resources for secondary pupils, which make reference to methanol poisoning, are aligned with the statutory guidance coming into effect in September 2026. This is available at:
We have also worked with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and the PSHE Association to make sure that good-quality teaching resources are available for teachers delivering drug, alcohol and tobacco education. From September 2026, lesson plans will reference the dangers of methanol poisoning, as well as teaching pupils how to manage influences and pressure, and to keep themselves healthy and safe.
We are also working with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to explore how we might help to promote its resources, including Travel Aware.
Schools have the freedom to ensure that the curriculum meets the needs of their pupils and the Department for Education does not advise schools on which resources to use. This flexibility will allow schools to respond to local public health and wider community issues, including current global issues presented on the news, and adapt material and programmes to suit the needs of pupils.
Petition presented to the House but not read on the Floor