The Young Fitness Leader course, developed at Stirling University, is aimed at pupils who want to become gym instructors, supervise weight training or run exercise-to-music sessions.

It has even allowed some students to supervise PE sessions for fellow pupils.

So far, 11 pupils from Abronhill High School in Cumbernauld have completed the pilot gym instructor programme, delivered at Stirling, which bills itself as Scotland's University for Sporting Excellence.

The scheme is now to be extended to five secondary schools across Stirlingshire, Falkirk, Clackmannanshire and Glasgow.

Elinor Steel, principal teacher of PE at Abronhill, said: "It has given the pupils an opportunity to gain qualifications and experiences not normally afforded to them and it has helped tackle the barriers that pupils feel stop them from volunteering and coaching in their local community.

"We have developed links with national governing bodies, local clubs and the further and higher education sector which means this is now a sustainable programme within our school that will help many other young people over the coming years."

Abronhill pupil Demi Mitchell, 16, hopes to become a physical education teacher and is already putting the qualification to good use. She said: "I put the gym instructor qualification on my application form for university so hopefully it will help show how interested I am in physical education.

"We have a gym at school and some of the pupils and teachers use it at lunchtime. It's the sort of thing which a teacher would have needed to run, but now we are qualified we can watch over and help people if they don't know how to use the equipment."

Nicola Duffy, who developed the programme with colleagues from the School of Sport, said: "It is not just about a qualification. The pupils develop leadership skills, communication skills and gain the confidence to pass on the knowledge to others."