The first Can It water bottles were handed out on Wednesday to pupils at schools across Courier Country signed up to our campaign.
The Courier’s Can It campaign wants fizzy drinks with a high caffeine content banned from schools, due to the adverse effects they can have on pupils’ health.
First-year pupils at Monifieth High School received their Can It water bottles after their school signed up before the summer holiday.
The school’s depute head, Catherine Ritchie, noticed pupils who have binged on fizzy drinks during their breaks do sometimes come back to class in odd moods.
“Often, when pupils have consumed high caffeine energy drinks over their break or lunch, they come back in to class louder and chattier and sometimes display quite bizarre behaviour,” she said.
“Their attention spans change, and pupils can struggle to concentrate in class.
“Monifieth is not a disruptive school, but we do notice there can be more disruption in the afternoon if high caffeine drinks have been consumed.
“The head teacher introduced a ban on fizzy drinks being brought in to school after she started three years ago, because of the way they can affect pupils’ health.”
Colin Kerr, a physics teacher at Monifieth High School, said: “The pupils seem quite happy to go along with the ban on high caffeine drinks, and fizzy drinks in general.
“Energy drinks can have a massive impact on pupils’ attention span and focus.
“It is really important energy drinks and caffeine drinks are banned from schools, because they can have a huge impact on children’s education.”
