Stopping children from taking up smoking at a young age can be vital for their health for the rest of their lives. But getting that message across is not always easy. Education Reporter Haydn Lewis dropped in at a York secondary school, where a group of teenage girls are using dance to teach younger children that smoking kills.

SMOKING is on the minds of the girls in the after-school dance club at Canon Lee School, in Rawcliffe, York for all the right reasons.

The group of about 40 girls, aged 11 to 16, have been performing in a dance with a strong anti-smoking message that has been shown to top year pupils at Clifton Without Junior School and Clifton Green Primary Schools.

It has been choreographed by dance teacher Kay Jones, who has been staying after school with the group on Friday afternoons to produce a dance-cum-drama about smoking.

Miss Jones said: "I wanted the girls to realise there should be an educational message in whatever they chose to do.

"They came up with the idea of doing this dance about the dangers of smoking. They have really put their all into it, and the children who have been watching at the primary schools have loved it."

Lucy Botterill, 15, one of the principal players, explained the dance has five main characters a mum, dad, two children, and a fire starter.

She said: "It starts with a dance to the Friends theme tune, as if the family are watching Friends on TV, then all the other girls come on stage in groups acting as if they are one of the characters from Friends.

"The next bit of music is to I Can't Wait For The Weekend, which is showing the mum and dad getting ready to go on a night out.

"After the mum and dad have left, one of the kids has a temptation to smoke one of the cigarettes that they have left, while the other one is against the idea.

"They both finally end up smoking and setting the house on fire and end up dying, while all the other girls are in groups are the fire.

"The mum and dad then come back to find their children dead and a funeral is held."

While it may seem a stark message, it is borne out by statistics compiled by the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, which show nearly every one of the 300 people who take up smoking every day is a child under the age of 18.

Professor Ray Donnelly, the chairman of the foundation, said this group of young smokers must be the target of concern.

He said: "These days, it is unusual for an adult to take up smoking. Most new smokers are children and young people, and we have to find new ways of preventing them from starting, as well as helping them to stop."

Lucy said: "I became involved with the dance because I have been attending dance club nearly all the time that I have been at the school, and enjoy taking part in dance.

"I feel that smoking is a bad habit and should be banned, especially in public places where it affects those who don't smoke."

The two children are played by Lucy and Chloe Phillips. The dad is played by Jordan Ness, Sophie Harris is the mum, and Hayley Bushell plays the fire starter.

One of the dancers, Megan Bradley, 15, said: "I really enjoyed taking part in this dance.

"It was fun to learn, and I'm glad that we are able to use our love for dance in such a positive way. It will also hopefully encourage younger children to take part in dance."