Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

Support Group - Media

Swayne Park Times       16th November, 2005

Facing Facts

Tim Wade Reporting

Year 8 were approached by the Facial Surgery Foundation – Saving Faces – and asked to participate in a study looking at the impact of smoking on young people. During their PSRE lesson all pupils completed an anonymous questionnaire about their feelings on smoking. As a follow-up Dr Leo Cheng, a senior consultant at St Bartholomew’s Hospital came to the school to deliver an assembly on the links that smoking has with mouth cancer. As this coincided with national mouth cancer week the Saving Faces Foundation were keen to attract some publicity and invited the BBC to record the assembly and interview some of our pupils. The assembly was very informative and included some graphic images of the harm that mouth cancer can cause. Our pupils responded thoughtfully to what they had seen and heard. Dr Cheng said that “it was a pleasure to speak with such mature and inquisitive pupils”. The BBC were also very impressed with the four pupils they interviewed and their performance on the national news was a real credit the them all. I am sure that everyone which watched the assembly now has a greater understanding of the risks associated with smoking and will be better informed for the future. “The day was good because I learnt al lot of new things. Being filmed was a bit scary because I thought I’d do it wrong. Fortunately I didn’t. I hope I can do this again.” Callum Shadbolt RHa. “it was a really great experience, I’ve never been on telly before and I was really nervous, but soon I got into it. It was really fun;
Karis Clapperton 8RBo