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Pupils at a Moston school have been giving sex education lessons to professionals to help them learn what young people want from the health service.

Teenagers from North Manchester High School for Girls joined their peers from three other schools across the city to share thoughts and views about sexual health and relationships in a special conference.

The youngsters came together as part of the Healthy High School Awards scheme co-ordinated by the Mancunian Community Health Promotion service and the Manchester School Improvement service.

The initiative aims to gather opinions and attitudes from young people about issues concerning sex and relationship education, sexual health services and personal responsibility.

Eighty teenagers along with 40 professionals from education and sexual health related fields met up at the GMB College in Whalley Range to debate the issues.

The event also launched the Manchester Sexual Health Strategy for young people and gave teenagers the chance to become involved with and be consulted on the project.

The strategy is intended to give decision makers nationally and locally an insight into issues important to young people in the area of sexual health services.

Some of the youngsters have also been involved at national level with the Health Education Authority and will take forward ideas from the debate to develop a National Sexual Health Strategy.

Manchester is one of only eight regions around the country earmarked by the government to help develop the National Healthy School Awards project.

Twenty Manchester schools are involved in the scheme and each can earn bronze, silver and gold awards as health promoting schools. There are plans to expand the scheme into other children's organisations including youth clubs.