A TEACHER hopes to hold the first inter-schools boxing tournament in more than 30 years after re-introducing the sport in his school.

Teesdale Comprehensive School, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, has become the first school in the region to start teaching boxing again.

Boys and girls at the school are being coached in the sport at lunchtime and after-school clubs.

Teacher Carl Lander, a former professional boxer, hopes many of the youngsters he is coaching will continue boxing as part of GCSEs and A-levels in PE.

He said that when he introduced boxing at his former school in Bradford, West Yorkshire, he had to overcome a lot of prejudice and misconception about the sport.

However, the recent success of stars such as Amir Khan, Ricky Hatton and Audley Harrison has reignited the public's interest in the sport.

He said: "A lot of people saw the sport as violent, and there were a lot of misconceptions, but now people realise that there is so much more to it. It is about self-control and discipline. It is not even in the top ten sports for injuries, sports like football and rugby come much higher."

Mr Lander, along with fellow teacher Adrian Hopper, a former RAF boxing champion, teach the Schools Standard Scheme, which is designed to introduce the sport to newcomers, in the same way tag-rugby does with rugby. The school also has close links with the National Boxing Academy and boxing clubs in Shildon and Bishop Auckland. As the pupils develop skills, Mr Lander hopes to organise a skills bout competition with Bradford City Academy in a year's time.

It would be the first inter-schools competition in the country in more than 30 years.

There are now 16 pupils, including six girls, taking part in the school's boxing club, with a waiting list of about 60.

One of the benefits of coaching boxing is it can attract pupils who would not normally become involved in school activities.

Mr Lander said: "Boxing is all about what you are doing and the pressure is on yourself in the ring.

"Boxing is unique in that it attracts and caters for a much wider variety of students and builds immediately a respect for fellow participants from the gruelling fitness regime, the challenging technical skills and, of course, the sudden realisation that your opponent, like you, has two arms that he can swing with equal ferocity. It is a great leveller of playing fields."