A CHART-TOPPING drummer visited a school to launch an education programme about the death penalty.

Richard Hughes, the drummer for British band Keane, went to Harris City Academy in Maberley Road, Crystal Palace, to launch Amnesty International’s new education pack.

The pack, titled A Matter of Life and Death, contains lesson plans, films, presentations and a script for a short play, which teach students about the reality of the death penalty.

Mr Hughes said: “It provides information from both sides of the argument and encourages people to reach their own decisions.

“On a personal level, I find it astonishing that nearly 60 countries across the world still retain the death penalty.”