They are believed to be the first in the country to have skateboarding lessons at school.
Bruntcliffe High is the first of five secondary schools in the city that will teach pupils to spin their wheels with top skateboarding coaches in PE lessons, instead of battling it out on the rugby pitch or netball court.
The three-year project costs around £13,000.
It aims to get underachievers and pupils who are not interested in conventional sports to take part in physical activity – hopefully boosting fitness, concentration levels and self-esteem.
Alex Tate, school sports co-ordinator at Bruntcliffe, picked out 12 youngsters aged 11 and 12 he thought would benefit from the 12-week course.
He said: "It's for kids that are getting a bit switched off by PE. We're trying to offer them alternatives to the normal core subjects that they do, to hopefully enthuse them.
"When I told them about it they thought it was brilliant."
Mr Tate decided to target pupils who had just started secondary school, hoping to catch them before their lack of interest in sport became too ingrained.
He said: "By year 10 they are more switched off – we are trying to bridge that gap a little bit."
Each pupil will be kitted out with a skateboard to use in lessons, plus protective pads. A top coach from The Works indoor skate park in Hunslet – a training ground for top BMX-ers and skaters – will teach them each week.
And at the end of the course pupils will have two sessions at The Works where they can put their new skills to the test on the ramps and rails of the 25,000sq/ft skaters' paradise.
Mr Tate said skateboarding could become an option for all pupils.
The scheme is the brainchild of Brychan Jones, partnership development manager for Leeds South Schools Sports Partnership.
Also taking part will be groups of ten 14 to 16-year-olds at Royds School Specialist Language College, Woodkirk High Specialist Science School, Rodillian School and Arts College and Morley High who start their classes in the new year.
Government guidelines state that 75 per cent of young people should be taking part in two hours' physical activity a week. Mr Jones said the partnership had already achieved 79 per cent.
Nigel Harrison, director of West Yorkshire Sport, praised the scheme, saying: "These skateboarding lessons are an extremely innovative way to engage with the pupils."
Cash came from a £94,950 grant from the Big Lottery Fund over three years, for a variety of unusual new schemes to boost youngsters' activity levels at the five secondary schools and 25 primary schools.