PUPILS at three secondary schools in East Lancashire will start new lessons this term -- as part of the biggest-ever UK pilot research project to develop drugs education.
The Blueprint Research aims to study the best way of enabling young people to make informed decisions about drug use.
And Lancashire has been chosen as one of only four local education authorities to pilot the scheme, which could be rolled out nationwide.
Year 7 students at Alder Grange High School in Rossendale, Mount Carmel RC High in Accrington, and Walton High School in Nelson will be guinea pigs for the next two years.
They will be given 10 lessons this term and five next year as well as having their attitude to a whole range of drugs tracked for a further two years.
The results will be put alongside a sample group from Albany High School in Chorley and St Augustine's RC in Billington, who are continuing with standard personal and social education.
The aim is to find out what really works in terms of drug education to reduce the number of people dabbling with illegal substances.
"All of the research shows that targeting this age group is the way to have an impact on their behaviour and views on all drugs -- from tobacco, solvents, and prescription drugs to Ecstasy and caffeine," said a Blueprint spokesman.
"It aims to reduce drug use by giving young people the information and skills to live a healthy and safe lifestyle."
East Lancashire schools were selected for the £6million programme last year having met the National Healthy School Standards.
"Very few areas are able to host a research programme of this size," said the spokesperson. "The areas were chosen because they had a big enough concentration of schools to support a large study with a real demographic mix.
"The research programme will tell us what happens when we try to apply new principles of effective drug education.
"It is different from existing drugs education in four main ways. In addition to school-based activities the programme will involve parents, the community, the media and health policy work, there will be more time given to drug education and the programme will be drawing on worldwide evidence and adapting it to the English education system.
"Blueprint will also use 'normative' education techniques -- a way of challenging many young people's misconceptions and myths about drug use among their peers and a way of opening the lines of communication between parents, teachers and youngsters.
"Quite simply, drug education has never been taught this way in this country before.
"Our overall aim is to prevent young people becoming problematic drug users in the future."
The lessons will be interactive and include role plays and discussions. The classes will focus on informing, educating and raising awareness of drugs as well as on attitudes and communication skills.
The findings from the whole research programme, run by the Home Office, the Department for Education and Skills and the Department for Health, will be published in 2007.
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