SCHOOLFRIENDS of the murdered Cornwall teenager, Caroline Dickinson, were "anxious but determined" to help French detectives who arrived in her home town yesterday to continue their investigations into her killing, her headmaster said.
Caroline (13) was raped and murdered on July 18th during a trip to Brittany with a 45 strong party of pupils and teachers from Launceston Community College.
A team of five French police officers, aided by up to 20 Devon and Cornwall officers, is expected to take several weeks to re-interview members of the party about the killing in the town of Pleine Fougeres.
At a news conference at the college, the head teacher, Mr Alan Wroath, said "lam full of admiration for the remarkable courage and determination of all the children, teachers and parents who want to do everything they can to assist the police, despite the prospect of reliving their terrible ordeal."
The knowledge that interviews would be conducted in the presence of British police under the British legal system was a comfort to them and their parents.
We hope these inquiries can be completed as quickly as possible, since it is the waiting and the speculation that also causes distress," he said.
Asked whether the families would agree to DNA testing of the five male students on the trip, if necessary, Mr Wroath said. By understanding is the parents will co-operate as much as they can. Everyone is determined to do their best to try and catch this man.
The children were "anxious but determined to do their very best to help the police, he added.
Mr Wroath said the French police had made it clear they wanted to work with the children.
The vicar of Launceston, the Rev Tim Newcombe, is said to have been in regular touch with Caroline's family, but said he could not comment on their reaction to the murder inquiry coming to their home town.
Other families had reacted "a mixture of feelings and emotions", he said, "sadness that is necessary, relief that a week of speculation is over and hope the help they could give our authorities and the French authorities will lead to an arrest and conviction".
The French detectives, who arrived by ferry at Plymouth yesterday morning, will brief British officers this weekend about the interviews they want to conduct in the coming weeks.
Statements and interviews given by the school party in France will be checked in a process expected to begin on Monday. Filmed interviews with pupils will be conducted by British police officers.
The French investigation was set back by the release of a 39 year old drifter, Mr Patrice Pade. He had confessed to Caroline's murder, but was cleared because samples of his DNA did not match samples taken from the victim.