Teenager Jayne Robertson attributes her "sensible" attitude to alcohol to a project she took part in aged just 11.

Teenager Jayne Robertson attributes her "sensible" attitude to alcohol to a project she took part in aged just 11.

Jayne, now 15, is among youngsters from the Easterhouse area of Glasgow who have benefited from the services of the award-winning scheme.

Since 1992, the Greater Easterhouse Alcohol Awareness Project has worked with primary six pupils, telling them about alcohol and equipping them with the assertiveness skills to combat peer pressure.

Project workers revisit the children in primary seven and again in secondary school, reinforcing the message that they have a choice in a culture that often suggests otherwise.

Jayne said: "I know there are some people around my age who do have a problem with drink. But the course really made me, and others who took part in it, realise what too much alcohol can do to your body and mind. I don't think I'll ever go down the road of abusing it."

Project workers relay their message partly through involving the youngsters in role-playing, quizzes and making alcohol-free cocktails.

The project in now being rolled out across the whole of the city's east end.

Stewart McKay, manager of the charity which is in the process of setting up an interactive website, believes it should be extended across the entire country.

He said: "We should have this in every school. We can now look back more than 10 years and see the phenomenal difference the project has made to people's lives. It is not about teaching alcohol abstinence, it's about offering information so young people can make informed choices."