Ref. 25691-7SCHOOLCHILDREN from Swindon have been getting up to mischief on a Channel 4 comedy drama about the life of teachers.

The youngsters have been travelling to Bristol as extras in the hit show Teachers, which is set to start its third series on August 6, and has been filming in the city.

The delegation of 90 pupils from Swindon have been helping to fill classrooms at the fictional Summerdown School. Filming started in January and ends tomorrow.

Teachers has earned a reputation for its surreal take on life, giving extras a chance to steal a scene as part of the bizarre action taking place in the background.

Hreod Parkway pupil Tom Ellis, 13, said: "The first time I went down to Bristol I was handed a load of elastic bands and told to wrap them round my head and walk past the camera.

"One of the people I was with was handed a scuba diving suit, and others got camping equipment and started cooking food on a mini stove in the corridor. But the production crew were really nice and we felt safe on set."

The producers went to extreme lengths to ensure reality. In episode three, the school holds a parents evening and most of the extras playing the mums and dads are the children's own parents.

Commonweal School pupil Jessica Schneider, 13, from Swindon said: "I was in Kurt McKenna's (played by Navin Chowdhry) year eight class and he was thinking of different ways to get back into his chair for the scene.

"He did a backward roll from his desk onto his chair but missed and landed on his head on the floor. It was really funny."

The extras are being supplied by Swindon agency A Little Extra. They are pupils of Swindon Young Actors, who meet weekly at Commonweal School in Old Town.

They work for up to 20 days each year and have been travelling with chaperones to Bristol for filming.

Keith Defter, Common-weal School head and chairman of the Swindon Associa- tion of Secondary Heads, said: "I've watched Teachers and it's a very enjoyable show.

"It's entertaining, if not entirely based in reality."