PUPILS from three high schools in have received national recognition for completing their first year of a pioneering drugs programme.

Mount Carmel Roman Catholic High School in Accrington, Walton High School in Nelson and Alder Grange High School in Rossendale were given signed certificates from the Home Office Drugs Minister, Caroline Flint, for their work on Blueprint.

Every pupil in the school's Year 7 groups has been taking part in lessons on the £6million drug education pilot.

There are 23 schools taking part in Blueprint, which in the first year involved teaching 10 intensive drug education lessons designed to give pupils accurate information about drugs, challenged perceptions of drug use and developed skills to deal with drug-related situations.

In Year 8, the same pupils will have a further five lessons focusing on the legal aspects of drug use, particularly alcohol and volatile substances such as glue and solvents.

Ms Flint said: "Blueprint is the most significant research programme of its kind in this country. Its key focus is to equip young people with life skills, as well as providing credible and accurate information. I've seen at first hand how the lessons are building confidence and self-esteem, so that young people feel they can make their own decisions."

Paul Robinson, assistant head at Mount Carmel and one of the teachers who has been delivering the Blueprint lessons, said: "It's been really rewarding to see pupils get involved in the Blueprint lessons, in particular, to see them develop key skills such as decision-making and assertiveness. The programme, which follows 11-year-olds for two years, is the first of its kind in the UK.