Year 9 students at six schools in Surrey spent eight weeks creating and practising an alternative version Romeo & Juliet.

Rather than Verona, the play sticks to the bard’s original script up until Romeo kills Tybalt in a street brawl.

The street is then cordoned off by police, and crime scene investigators search for evidence.

The play concludes after Romeo is put on trial and sentenced for murder.

Guildford Shakespeare Company producer Sarah Gobran said the project, part of the ‘Put Up Your Swords’ programme, helped students engage with knife crime more effectively than if they had just listened to assemblies.

She said: “The problem with one-off speakers or talking about it in classrooms is that the students are just listening – hopefully.

“By doing something that’s interactive, having a course of work that lasts eight weeks and they can get physically involved with, the impact is so much more.

“For example, we had a professional fight director go out. I can’t imagine many of these students would have fight lessons.

“A lot of teachers were quite surprised that in leafy Surrey it’s an issue that students were worried about.

“They didn’t realise quite how much they were worried about it.”

Students took part in 90-minute sessions each week for eight weeks to practise the play and learn about knife crime.

After eight weeks, students staged a performance at their respective schools.

Sarah said data collected by the team showed real results – with 82 percent of students at one school saying they would tell an adult or the police if they knew someone was carrying a knife following the session, compared to just 18 percent before.

She added: “At the end we did a series of questions which we asked at the beginning and end of the project.

“One project my team turned around and said ‘oh, you’re not going to be able to use this one’.

“The student’s comment was: ‘the best part was I got out of lessons.’

“Actually, for me, it’s my favourite quote.

“For 90 minutes a week, for eight weeks, they’ve been learning about Romeo & Juliet, they’ve been learning Shakespeare’s text, they’ve been learning about knife crime, they’ve been learning about our judicial system.

“The fact he doesn’t think they’re lessons – it’s just glorious.

“For me, that’s the power of learning through drama.”

The project was part-funded by the Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner, as well as local groups and charities, and individual donors.

Lisa Townsend, Surrey’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “Knife crime rates in Surrey are at around half of the national average, and the county remains one of the safest places to live in the UK.

“But one life lost to this terrible crime is one too many, and we cannot afford to be complacent.

“Any offence involving a knife or blade can have the gravest possible consequences.

“Through my visits to Surrey schools, I am aware of the very real fear young people have of knife crime.

“Put Up Your Swords allows students to explore the reality of carrying a blade, and the impact it can have, in a safe, educational setting.

“I am delighted to support the programme.”