Primary school pupils aren’t allowed to play in the open without hats during term one and four, but once they move to secondary school the focus on sun protection often wanes.
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Students at Ballarat Secondary College’s Woodman’s Hill campus will be well protected from harmful UV rays with the installation of a new $25,000 sun shelter over part of their yard.
Cancer Council Victoria SunSmart manager Heather Walker said helping teenagers to be SunSmart was vital.
“There is a focus on sun protection in primary schools, but teenagers tend to be more reluctant to wear hats and use sunscreen. More shade structures in secondary schools is helping to reduce the overall amount of excess UV exposure teenagers receive thus reducing their skin cancer risk,” Ms Walker said.
Ballarat Secondary College Campus Principal Simon Haber said the shade sail would greatly benefit students.
“Skin cancer is one of the most preventable cancers and we want to play our part in reducing our students and staff skin cancer risk,” Mr Haber said.
Every year, 53 people in Ballarat are diagnosed with melanoma, making it the fourth most common cancer in the area behind prostate, bowel and breast cancer.
Two in three Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer before they turn 70, with most skin cancers resulting from sun exposure.
Ms Walker said although the number of melanoma diagnoses was increasing, the rate among people aged under 40 was falling in line with the positive impact of skin cancer prevention programs like SunSmart.
“We know the message is working, but we need to keep our prevention efforts going to see this progress in to the future,” she said.
Melanoma and skin cancers are most commonly diagnosed in people aged 55 and older because UV exposure accumulates over a lifetime.
The Shade for Secondary Schools initiative is a partnership between eftpos and Cancer Council which provides $25,000 grants to schools to install the UV protection.