A CATCHY song played on a ukulele and a novel computer game were among the innovative resources designed for primary school children by Aberystwyth University Criminology students.

The Youth Crime and Justice module, taught at the Department of Law and Criminology, provides students with an understanding of child development, youth crime and the treatment of children who offend.

As part of the module, students are set an assignment to produce an age-appropriate resource to help children to understand the concept of the minimum age for criminal responsibility.

Dr Kathy Hampson, who leads the Youth Crime and Justice module, said: “A 10-year-old in England or Wales can be convicted of a crime, and subjected to a police investigation which could result in a lifelong criminal record. “However, the concept of criminal culpability of children is not taught in schools.

“We encourage our students to consider this fact, and respond to the challenge by developing a resource for communicating with children about the minimum age of criminal responsibility.

“This year’s creative assignments were particularly inventive and original. One of the students composed a song with ingenious lyrics, complete with harmonies and a ukulele accompaniment. Another produced a wonderful children’s book, and one student coded a computer game from scratch.”