Pupils shown life behind bars at Shepton Mallet Prison
- Published
The Education Behind Bars project gives young people an insight into what it is like to go to prison
An immersive education programme showing children how criminal behaviour has been dealt with over the centuries has been launched at a historic prison.
Pupils from Downside School in Somerset were given the chance to go inside the decommissioned Shepton Mallet Prison as part of Education Behind Bars.
Organisers are aiming for the scheme to be part of the national curriculum at every Key Stage.
Student, Chloe, said she had found the visit "really interesting"
Downside School students Nayan and Chloe said they enjoyed the immersive experience
"It was a really nice, immersive experience seeing how tall the walls were and finding out what it was like in the cells," she said.
"It was really interesting seeing the life of the prisoners and seeing how long the prison has been standing for.
"I'm very grateful for the life I have and glad I'm not in prison," she added.
Education Behind Bars is a national programme for schools, colleges, and universities, which aims to show the realities of prison life and how criminal behaviour has been dealt with over the years.
The programme was launched at Shepton Mallet prison, which closed ten years ago, on 28 March 2013, and more locations are due to be announced later this year
Monica Newton showed pupils around the prison
Prison tour manager, Monica Newton, said immersive education allowed pupils to understand more by experiencing the subject themselves.
"They will learn about life in a jail, a house of correction in the 1600s and 1700s and about the Victorian period of hard labour," she said.
"They will have an in-cell experience where they'll be set a challenge of being quiet for five minutes to sense what it's like.
"They're also learning about modern day prison life," added Ms Newton.
Cove Group turned the decommissioned prison into a heritage tourist attraction and CEO Joel Campbell said the programme also aims to help tackle crime rates.
"We wanted something meaningful which truly educates the next generation," he added.
Pupils will learn about life in a jail, a house of correction in the 1600s and 1700s and about the Victorian period of hard labour
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