DOZENS of schoolchildren and students have found themselves under police supervision – but it has all been on the right side of the law.

For Ryedale police have been staging a programme as part of Malton School’s citizen year initiatives – a package of cross-curricular lessons leading to the staging of a trial.

PC Jane Jones, who has been master-minding the project, said students have been working with the police dog section and its armed response unit.

There has also been a reconstruction of a student being arrested in Malton Market Place who was then taken to the police station to go through police procedures.

“This is themed learning with a real-life situation of decision making and conequences around actions,” said PC Jones.

She added that the trial also includes video clips for primary school who have staged events, video resource and teaching materials, together with links to professionals within the community to enable schools to conduct their own trial.

“Children develop their sense of social justice and moral responsibility, and the primary school framework provides units of persuasion and formal writing,” said PC Jones.

The week-long programme focusses on an everyday incident of petty crime within school and real-life implications.

PC Jones said: “The children compile evidence duing the week, write prosecution and defence cases and finally deliver them to a bench of real magistrates, court clerks, police officers and the probatioon service.”

One headteacher said: “This project provided the children with an invaluable insight into the justice system. It was very informative.”