This week we released a new BBFC advert to help cinema-goers understand what the 12A cinema rating means.

In 2013 our research found that 75% of people understand that a film rated 12A is suitable for children aged 12 and over, but a younger child can see the film if they are accompanied by an adult. Our new advert reminds parents, and other adults, to check the BBFCinsight for every 12A film before they take a child under 12 to see it. BBFCinsight explains the key classification issues in a film and is useful for parents.

There were 87 more films classified 12A in 2013 compared to 2012, meaning there were more 12A films at the cinema than before. We spoke to over 10,000 people about film classification in 2013 and 92% agreed with the BBFC age ratings for films and videos they had seen recently.

BBFC Director David Cooke says: “The 12A certificate is twelve years old this year and is still our newest age rating. We want to remind parents that the certificate was designed to help them decide if a film at the 12 level is suitable for their child. Children develop at different rates and while one child may understand the issues in a particular 12A film, another child may find the film distressing. Parents can use the detailed BBFCinsight we provide for every film we classify to see if a 12A film is suitable for their child.”
 
Helping parents and children understand BBFC age ratings is very important to us. In September 2013 we relaunched the CBBFC website for children and their parents. It contains straight forward information about age ratings and BBFCinsight; interactive content for children and articles for parents, including tips for safer online viewing; and a page dedicated to understanding 12A.

Lucy Brett, BBFC Head of Education, says: “So far this year we’ve visited over 4700 students, primary school children, cinemagoers and adult learners through our outreach programme. In general we find that children and teenagers are more confident about the meaning of 12A than our adult audiences. We hope our new 12A advert will allow many more to be confident in making informed choices about the 12A films they and their families watch. No two 12A films are the same and no two children are the same, which is why BBFCinsight is designed to help parents find a good film fit for their child.”

Our 12A advert will be in cinemas over the summer and is available on our 12A page. We would like to thank Pearl & Dean and DCM for their support in screening the advert in cinemas. Further 12A education materials for schools and families will be released later this year.