Schools tour raises awareness of drug dealing and exploitation

Schools in Blackburn with Darwen have this week been learning some powerful lessons on effective ways to combat crime and feel safe.

A new programme for Secondary Schools entitled – ‘No More County Lines. Ridding the Streets of Exploitation’ is touring nationally and schools in the borough have been the first to see it.

County lines are ‘gang activity, highly associated with violence, drug dealing and exploitation; that is having a devastating impact on young people, vulnerable adults and local communities.’

The programme raises awareness of County lines with music and teaching from experienced school bands, animations, videos and talks from the local police,

Councillor Julie Gunn, Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education, who attended one of the sessions at Pleckgate High School said:

The tour is a great way of teaching our young people the dangers of exploitation and gang culture. It’s presented in such an engaging way and the video stories of people who have been exposed to drugs and violence and found a way out are inspiring.

This is the message we want our young people to be aware of, we want to equip and empower them to initially make good choices but even if they do find themselves stuck, then please know that there is hope and always a way out, as long as they can talk to someone.

Funded by the The Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) and Lancashire Partnership Against Crime (LANPAC) the tour is delivered by the charity The Message Trust and is similar to their previous No More Knives programme.

The ‘No More’ tours seek to open the conversation with young people (age 11 – 18) around current topics affecting them on a national level.

The No More Knives tour was launched in January 2020. Since then, The Message Trust have delivered over 20 tours across the UK to around 100,000 young people, each with the aim of raising awareness of the dangers of knives and giving them the tools they need to say ‘no’ to knives and signposting them to sources of further support. They hope to achieve the same positive influence via the ‘No More County Lines. Ridding the Streets of Exploitation’ tour.

Schools taking part in the tour include –

• St Wilfrid’s Church of England Academy
• Pleckgate High School
• St Bede’s Roman Catholic High School
• Tauheedul Islam Boys’ High School (TIBHS)
• Eden School
• Darwen Aldridge Enterprise Studio
• Witton Park Academy
• Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School (QEGS)
• Darwen Aldridge Community Academy
• Our Lady & St John Roman Catholic High School

To find out more about county lines, visit:

Protecting children from county lines | NSPCC Learning