CHILDREN at two of York's secondary schools are to be screened for a sexually transmitted disease in a scheme which could be rolled out nationwide.

Teenagers will be offered screening for chlamydia in a project that will be adopted across the country if successful.

The experiment is believed to have been sanctioned by the school's headteachers but has not yet been formally approved by governors.

The screening programme would be offered to boys, as well as girls.

In June the Evening Press reported how York health chiefs were to take steps to combat the rising tide of sexually transmitted diseases.

York was then chosen as one of ten locations in Britain to launch a £150,000 chlamydia screening programme in the city.

The identity of the York schools has not been publicised. In the future, colleges, nightclubs and sport clubs may also be invited to join a test screening programme.

The Government estimates that one in a 100 girls aged 16 to 19 is diagnosed with chlamydia, which is spread through unprotected sex and can be treated with antibiotics.

For women, the effects can be pelvic inflammatory disease, which can lead to lower chances of conception or even infertility. Babies can be born with pneumonia or conjunctivitis.

In York, health chiefs have been focusing on sexual health in schools for more than 18 months. But this is the first time there has been screening for chlamydia in schools.

Updated: 11:05 Thursday, September 11, 2003