A DEPUTY head teacher has been praised as a "trailblazer" by police for his work to stop Derby youths getting involved in radicalisation and extremism.
Neil Wilkinson has been "instrumental" in helping officers stage the city's first anti-terrorism workshops for more than 1,400 pupils at Bemrose School.
The lessons involve watching a fictional bomb attack on a shopping centre and discussing how terror plots can be hatched with information from radical websites.
Mr Wilkinson has also been commended for work he has done to identify a group of former pupils who were responsible for a series of robberies in a Derby park.
He said: "Schools cannot work in isolation – they need to help the police and other authorities.
"There is no problem
here at the school at all in terms of extremism but it is still important that issues such as radicalisation are raised to young people at an early stage in their
lives."
Detective Sergeant Matt Williamson presented Mr Wilkinson with a Chief Constable's Commendation.
He said: "Neil has been instrumental in identifying and supporting young people who may potentially be exposed to extremism and has been an unswerving supporter of the police."MORE: Read the full story here.
