SCHOOLCHILDREN are being enlisted in the battle for clean air as Oxford's pollution levels rocketed again this month.

A new scheme has been launched by Oxford City Council to get schools involved by measuring the air quality in their part of the city.

Over the coming weeks every school in the city will be contacted and six will take part in the scheme, using special 'Airsensa' technology to find out how safe their air is.

Sue Croft, principal of the Oxford Spires Academy, said the school had already responded and were keen to take part.

She said: "We were really interested in getting involved in the project because of the link between air quality and life expectancy.

"There are some statistics around Oxford that are pretty shocking and I thought we would investigate a real issue and see if the students can be part of the solution."

In central Oxford the concentration of harmful nitrogen dioxide, or NO2, was about 52 ug/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre of air) in 2014, lower than it has been in the past partly due to the introduction of a Low Emission Zone, but still well above the UK aim of 40 ug/m3.

So far this year the average has remained low at 37 ug/m3 but with a huge spike in June to 79.75ug/m3 - almost twice the 'safe' limit.

Mrs Croft added: "It feels like a lush, green site here, not an inner-city school, but because of where we are we don't get those sea breezes that blow everything away.

"Schools are about the future. The future health of these students, and more widely as a community, is something that matters to us."

Asthma UK estimate there are 10,104 children living with asthma in Oxfordshire.

This was calculated using the Health Survey for England, which says the prevalence rate for children aged 0-14 in the South East is 8.57 per cent and there are 117,894 children of this age in the county.

It is hoped the project will run along the same lines of a similar one in London in 2014 in which students recorded air pollution near their schools.

They went on to encourage parents to to stop using cars on the school run, with car travel to the school eventually cut by 35 per cent.

Councillor John Tanner, executive board member for climate change, said: "Getting the kids in school to measure our air quality is a sure-fire way of getting their parents behind cleaner air for Oxford too.

"The council is leading the way when it comes to tackling air quality in Oxford but we can’t do it on our own. Everyone from the youngest to the oldest must play their part.

"Everyday decisions have a real impact on Oxford’s air quality. Cycling and walking to school instead of jumping into the car can really help reduce air pollution."

In April this year the supreme court ordered the Government to make a plan for tackling air pollution in the UK, which has breached EU limits for years.