Students from primary and secondary schools are getting a lesson of how to react in emergency situations and prevent them - in practice.

Held at the old primary school in Pembroke, children and adolescents were this morning told what to do and who to call in the event of an accident. They were shown how to put out a fire and taken on an ambulance.

The activity was organised by the Health and Safety Unit within the Education Directorate, and it is planned to become a mainstay of the scholastic year in state schools.

"When you teach kids in class they learn, but it has been shown that hands-on experience helps more," education officer Kenneth Scicluna told timesofmalta.com.

It also seems to work.

A group of children from Mqabba Primary School looked on enthralled as the programme was being held, and were only to keen to quiz the instructor as to why the rear doors had tinted glass.

"I want to go up one again," eight-year old Eman said. "I can learn new things this way."

Asked whether he wanted to go up as a patient, he paused for a second then said "better not".