Local school pupils take part in first ever Pathways to Law Summer School
- Wednesday, June 6, 2018
On Tuesday 29 May, the University of Roehampton welcomed students to its first ever Pathways to Law Summer School, run by the Schools and Colleges Engagement Team and the Roehampton Law School.
The event, co-sponsored by the Sutton Trust, saw forty-two Year 10 students from local secondary schools come to campus to experience life as an undergraduate law student at Roehampton.
The four-day course included a tour of campus, lectures by Roehampton academics, including Principal Lecturer Kevin Rogers, and lawyers from Wilberforce Chambers and 1 Crown Office Row. The course also included a trip to the Supreme Court and the Royal Courts of Justice, where pupils had the opportunity to discuss ethical and legal issues with practising barristers, and a final mock trial back in Roehampton's own mock courtroom, in which the defendant was found innocent.
The students took part in several other interactive sessions, working on debating skills, knowledge of law (such as the difference between a barrister and a solicitor) and presenting their own cases in the roles of judges, appellants and respondents.
Dr Sandradee Urquhart, a Senior Lecturer at Roehampton Law School, said “The week was a huge success with more students involved than last year's Pathways programme. Many students described how the course increased their confidence and they were excited to meet and speak with barristers, solicitors and legal academics.”
The law programme at the University of Roehampton has been designed to create highly trained graduates with the skills which employers value. Through lectures, seminars and debates, the law students are encouraged to develop valuable critical thinking skills, useful as a lawyer or as transferable skills for many other professions in the modern workforce.