Ex-convicts gave Macclesfield schoolchildren an insider's view of life behind bars.

The King's School invited sixth formers from across the North West to a conference, 'Behind Bars: Crime & Deviance'.

Run by True Life Conferences, the day-long event aimed to examine whether prisons should be for punishment, retribution or rehabilitation.

Two former prisoners, Alex and Brian, spoke to students about the difficulties of life in prison and how they have reflected on their actions as well as the challenges they faced after release and living with a criminal record.

 Phoebe Rogers, King's psychology teacher, said: "Learning from those who have lived part of their lives behind bars gives our students a real-life glimpse not only of the true consequences of crime but of the many professionals who dedicate their lives to helping them change their behaviour."

King's psychology students Marina, Emma, Callum and Harrison with teacher Phoebe Rogers (left), head of year 12 Miss Cunliffe (right) and Alex from TrueLife (Credit: King's School)

 The conference covered topics such as crime prevention, the legal system, forensic psychology, drug awareness, mental health awareness and tackling stereotypes.

Joining King's pupils for the day were fellow A-Level psychology students from Stockport Grammar School and Manchester High School for Girls.

Andrew, from True Life, said: "We aim to show young people who want to work in related sectors such as the law, policing, social work, psychology and prison welfare what the costs and realities of prison life are.

What it is like to be labelled and then dealing with what can be a life-long stigma.

"We ask pupils to examine whether prison is really the best solution for some offences and whether the short sharp shock approach ever works.

"We also look at more serious offending, how those offenders think, and how we manage the segregation of dangerous individuals from society and the nature of punishment for wrong doing."

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