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As part of the Pathways to Law programme at Westminster City School, a select group of Year 12 students took part in a Law workshop led by a sitting district judge who visited the school to share her experience and insights into the legal world.

During the interactive workshop, students explored the different areas of law, learning everything from the materials used to make traditional court wigs to the percentage of women currently serving as tribunal judges. Students then went onto participate in a realistic role play to give them a taste of court room proceedings and the legal and moral challenges which a judge has to overcome. The judge also spoke openly about her own journey and the fact that she was the first in her family to attend university, going on to study at Oxford, and being on a zero-hours contract within the judicial system.

Finally, students discussed the realities of the legal profession, including salary ranges for lawyers, judges, and district judges. This was insightful and intriguing as it allowed them to understand how the salary ranges work, depending on the level of experience of the judges.

On Thursday 12 June, the marathon into the legal world continued as we hosted Nicola Padfield, Professor of Criminal and Penal Justice at the University of Cambridge who delivered a lecture to the aspiring Lawyers. Nicola spoke extensively about her wide-ranging legal career as a barrister, a judge, a researcher, and now one of the leading voices in Criminal Justice and Penal research. She also spoke about her recent experiences of sitting on an independent sentencing review into prison sentences which gave added value to the session as this was something new to the students in attendance. The inspiring presentation produced much engagement from the Year 12 attendees, as they were given the space to think about their future career in the legal world. 

Thank you to all our speakers for making these sessions truly informative and inspirational for our students on the Pathways to Law Programme.