PC Rebecca Watson emphasises that she could not and does not want to keep order in the school - that is for teachers to do.

“This is not a bad school,” she said. And she is not a security guard. PC Watson is one of three community beat officers who cover the Queensway estate in the town.

The school, on the edge of the estate, was asked last year by Northamptonshire police to provide a base for an officer in order to raise the profile of police in the area.

And for the school - serving two of the most deprived wards in the country - it was a chance to strengthen links with the police and wider community. Head Kenneth Perris said: “What we wanted was a pro-active approach. We had found we were often in a reactive situation, things would happen and we would ring up.”

Once the project started in September PC Watson and the school found it more effective for her to just drop in every time she was on duty rather than working from there.

One success has been ridding the school of youths who hung around nearby during the day: the school erected a security fence and PC Watson warned them off.

Any practical benefits are due to months of hard work which went into creating a good relationship.

Mr Perris said: “We have less vandalism and I can’t think of any negatives. I would recommend working with the police to other schools.” But he is sceptical about moves to draft police in to “problem schools”.

PC Watson has a folder in her school office where children and parents can leave messages for her. She said: “The more children come to me, the more other children come to me - they feel confident.”