Teen passes pub test with flying colours

A career minded teenager is believed to be the youngest person to ever achieve the BIIAB Level 2 Introduction to Licensed Retail Operations (ILRO.)

Fifteen-year-old Matthew Garrett took the test along with the rest of his family including his mum Lisa Ballett and dad Mark, who took over Marston's pub the Pilot at Poole in September - and all of them passed.

The BIIAB ILRO provides the foundation knowledge that a newcomer to the hospitality industry needs in order to be competent in all aspects of running a licensed retail business.

Lisa said: "We are extremely proud of Matthew, obviously he is restricted on what he can help out with at the pub due to his age, but I feel he has got a head start now in the industry.

"Whether he chooses to follow his dream of one day running his own pub or not remains to be seen, but the training was invaluable and could cross over to many management careers."

Marston's business development manager Ken Russell added: "As a company we are always looking to make sure our licensees have an appropriate level of training. To see an entire family taking this so seriously shows real promise for the future of the trade as a whole."