Pupils at a North-East school are to be the first in the country to carry a smart card which will be used to credit them with points for good behaviour.

The points can be exchanged for goods, including their favourite music compact discs.

The scheme will reward 958 pupils for good attendance, good behaviour and healthy eating.

"It is exactly the same currency," said Mike Booth, headteacher at Benfield School, Newcastle.

"It is basically a swipe card. Teachers have a machine in their classroom and can credit pupils for good work or having a high attendance rate.

"At the end of the week, they take the information from the machine and put it on to a mainframe computer, which is linked to the Worldcard website and retail shops."