Teenagers are once again lining up to get a taste of gruelling RCMP training.

The third annual RCMP Youth Academy takes over Brock middle school during spring break next week.

Twenty-three Grade 11 and 12 students from Kamloops, Barriere, Chase and Clearwater will be dropped off at the school on Sunday for five days of training.

They’ll live in the school barracks 24 hours a day while learning discipline and policing techniques.

"It's a mini-Regina depot," said Greg Howard, the Kamloops-Thompson School District principal of trades and transitions.

For the first time this year, half the group is made up of girls, said Const. Rupert Meinke, who takes the RCMP lead this year.

From 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., drills and physical exercises combine with theoretical talks on the criminal code and powers of arrest.

Kamloops RCMP officers will impart their expertise in various fields including forensics, polygraph, drugs, dogs, identification, emergency response, defence tactics and air.

It all culminates in a graduation ceremony where parents, friends and community members celebrate the students’ achievements.

Applicants had to write an essay and pass a physical exam. The teens also pay $250 for a tracksuit and food for the week.