TEENAGERS at a Palmers Green school have been using chess to tackle their bad behaviour in a unique scheme.

The project at Broomfield School in Wilmer Way attempts to help around 15 children with behavioural or concentration problems to think more about their decisions and increase their grades by playing the ancient board game.

The ten-week initiative – in which children aged 14 to 15 take part in team-building exercises and chess games during a one-hour session – is run by former basketball player Simon Bucknor, who founded the organisation Behavioural Management Through Chess in 2002.

He said: “It's all about raising achievement and developing these kids.

“The game has so many challenges it's a great tool to teach some of the most fundamental lessons in life.

“We've only got ten weeks with them but I'd like to believe that by the end of it they will think more about their actions, and if they apply that, they will be well on the way to being more successful.”

The children involved in the project have been identified by teachers for not reaching their potential grades because of repeatedly getting into trouble – but the pupils seemed to respond well to the coaching and saw the benefit of acting less impulsively.

Year 10 student Kieran Holmes-Williams said: “Before I did this I wasn't really thinking about my decisions and what I was doing with my life.

“This is really good because now I take time before I make a decision and I think about how I can reach my goals.”

Teachers at the school were positive about the effect the classes were having on the pupils and some staff were even taking part in the sessions to see what they could learn.

Headteacher Angus Walker said that he was open to any way of improving grades and he didn't believe a school should spend all of its money and resources on one method.

He said: “There's lots of ways of raising achievement and this seems to be one of them. It's a mistake if you pin everything on one thing.

“I was sceptical at first but once you see the way the children engage and enjoy the sessions you can see it's a great idea.

“We can transfer responsibility to the students and encourage them to start thinking about their own learning and how they get transferable skills.”