Teachers got children to sing when returning from a school trip from France when they discovered a suspected stowaway was knocking on the bottom of their coach.
The concerned teachers, from Hummersknott Academy in County Durham phoned police to tell them about the suspect.
Officers told them to continue driving until officers could meet them.
To ensure the kids didn't hear the banging from the stowaway, they got them to sing Always Look On The Bright Side of Life and If You're Happy And You Know It.
The driver did not stop the coach until the police arrived, which prevented the man from escaping – and meant he didn't come in contact with the children, aged from 11 and 13.
The police discovered a man hanging onto the rear axle of the coach. He was arrested.
The driver's actions won praise from Hummersknott headteacher Pat Howarth, who told the Daily Mail: "His first priority was to make sure the children were safe," he said.
"They were never in contact with the man, they never saw him."
"Initially the children wouldn't have known what was going on and I think their first reaction was that they were quite scared."
He added: "The staff intervention, starting the communal singing, got them in a calm state."
