THE WRITING is on the wall for promising teenage graffiti artists. A number of 15 and 16-year-olds who have been excluded from school are attending SCArt, specially organised workshops run by the Youth Programmes Units, where they have decorated boards wi

THE WRITING is on the wall for promising teenage graffiti artists.

A number of 15 and 16-year-olds who have been excluded from school are attending SCArt, specially organised workshops run by the Youth Programmes Units, where they have decorated boards with their own art.

During the sessions, based at Stevenage's Bowes Lyon Centre, the youngsters worked with a graffiti artist from The Funky Monk Productions to spray the 4ft by 8ft boards.

Jane Pitman, lead member for Hertfordshire County Council's children's services, said: "These workshops are a wonderful way to encourage and develop the creative skills of young people in a positive way, giving them the opportunity to air their views about current issues.

"Spraying graffiti in public is viewed as a negative activity that can ruin the image of communities.

"We aim to transfer those skills from the streets and into a workshop."

The graffiti boards are to be displayed at the Rhythms of the World festival in Hitchin on July 15 and 16. They will then go on display at the Bancroft Youth Programmes Unit in Hitchin and Timebridge Youth Club in Stevenage.

The finished creations will also go towards a recognised life skills qualification for the artists who designed them.