The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the School Health Programme (PSE) in three public schools in the city of Três Rios - RJ, after one year of implementation. This evaluation compared the knowledge of hygiene principles reported by students from the three public schools (EPB), included in the PSE, and students from three public schools (EPC), which do not take part in the programme.

The results of this study show that the PSE has contributed to the cultural integration of public school students in relation to hygiene, since published studies on this type of analysis describe superiority in EPCs compared to EPBs. The results also suggest that students from public schools, not included in the PSE, are being provided with the desired knowledge.

The implementation of the PSE proved to be relevant in the short term for teaching hygiene habits in BPS and as a factor in diagnosing students' health conditions. In the long term, it is hoped that the PSE will become a factor of real importance for issues related to personal and collective hygiene.

. .