MEN will be banned from Batley Baths when a women-only exercise programme is launched this month.
The Teen Sitara sessions will be staffed entirely by women and banish men from the public side of the building.
Any windows allowing people to look in from outside will be covered.
The exercise programme will offer swimming, fitness classes, sauna and fitness suite use.
The Sitara project for women was launched at Batley several years ago, but has been extended to accommodate young people, due to increasing demand.
It aims to give women the chance to exercise in a relaxed, all-female environment.
The adult Sitara sessions, at first more popular with South Asian women because of their culture, are now enjoyed by women from all backgrounds and attract around 450 people a week.
Salma Zaman, development officer for Kirklees Culture and Leisure Services, and a Sitara instructor, said: "We are very excited about this new Teen Sitara session
"Young girls will be taking part in regular physical activities in a female-only environment with female instructors, something that wasn't previously provided.
"This fits in with cultural and religious needs of many young girls in the area.
"We have been holding the adult Sitara sessions for several years and they are extremely popular.
"So we talked to young people about what they wanted.
"Our research showed that teenage girls felt self-conscious and would feel happier exercising with other girls.
"The teen sessions will offer a safe environment for young people, whether they are white, black or Asian. Many mothers already attend adult Sitara, which has proved a successful and effective way of exercising.
"They definitely feel more confident and enjoy exercise more without men around."
The teen sessions, for girls aged 11 to 16, will run from 2pm-5pm.
They will be launched on May 20, to coincide with the baths, on Cambridge Street, opening for the first time on a Sunday.
On Sundays the baths, which were opened to the public in 1893, will be open for swimming lessons and Sitara sessions.
On the launch day the Teen Sitara activities, which will normally cost £2, will be free.
Timetabled sessions on the launch day are:
2pm-2.45pm sports activities; 3pm-4pm swim and fitness suite, taster aquaerobics; 4.15pm- 5pm Bollyareobics, Bollywood dancing to a keep-fit programme.
Girls are asked to wear loose, comfortable clothing.
If they want to swim they must wear either a swimming costume or Lycra leggings and a leotard, plus a swimming cap.
Any girls at the launch day will be given a free swimming cap.
Mothers are invited to accompany their daughters on the launch day.
The adult Sitara sessions usually run on Monday and Wednesday afternoons and evenings.
On the launch day of the teen programme there will be an additional adult Sitara session from 5pm-7pm.
Jonathan Debenham, operations manager for Batley Baths, said he was looking forward to the new Sunday programme.
He said: "This is an exciting way forward for the centre.
"With this extension of the programme we are able to accommodate more of the community's needs."
