JT News - December 2018
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A Level Law trip to Birmingham courts
In October, the Year 12 A Level lawyers boarded the train to Birmingham along with Mrs Burns (Law teacher) and Mrs Hodgkinson (governor and criminal barrister).
The magistrates court beckoned first on our itinerary. As we all lined up for our security checks, with our bags being x-rayed and a metal detector scanning our bodies, a frisson of anticipation and excitement ran through the group.
The building itself is beautiful with stunning original Victorian décor. There are lots of courts within the building and we split into small groups to go and listen to the cases. The magistrates hear ‘summary offences’ ie the least serious – driving offences, common assault, criminal damage under £5000 and shoplifting under £200 - and this accounts for over 90% of all criminal trials so their job is a very busy one.
We listened to a range of cases – here is a sample: a man who assaulted his girlfriend which meant he breached a restraining order (a court order to stay away from someone); a man who had run up £19k of debt and who was at risk of being jailed; a heroin addict who was on a possession of Class A drugs charge and a theft charge for shoplifting milk from a supermarket in order to feed his baby; a man who had shoplifted a whole load of Hollister gear – he got six months in prison.
After a fascinating morning we all went off for a well-deserved lunch break and after lunch met up again outside the Birmingham Queen Elizabeth Law Courts. We spent the afternoon listening to Crown Court cases – serious offences – hearing a whole range – credit card fraud; a rape case where the witness was so scared to give evidence she was screened off from the court. We also spent a lot of time listening to the white extremist terrorist case involving Adam Thomas and Claudia Patatas. These two have been in the press very recently having been found guilty of belonging to a terrorist group and inciting violence. They also named their baby son Adolf, after Adolf Hitler. Part of the trial involved the jury being shown a huge crossbow, purchased by Adam as part of his arsenal of weapons. We heard shocking text messages between members of the group and we have not been surprised at the recent guilty verdict. They are currently awaiting sentence. We think it will be a lengthy term of imprisonment.
Around 4 pm we left the court and had some ‘free’ time before all getting the train back. Needless to say there was a lot of discussion about the day going on in the train carriage!
Our next trip is to Nottingham where we will be going to the Galleries of Justice to discover the history of crime and punishment and listening to the Crown Court trials.
Year 11 and 12 Business students were given the opportunity to visit Land Rover's factory in Solihull - unfortunately no photos could be taken inside - and participated in an activity to enourage them to consider lean production techniques.
The activity involved students working in teams to create a specified number of "trolleys" to exact specifications in time limits. If the trolley was deemed poor quality it was returned to the "factory" to be rebuilt. The winning team in each round, was the fastest, with the lowest number of defective products. However, for each round less time was available and more products had to be made.
Students soon learnt to organise their materials so that they could be easily accessed, broke their production process down into different activities, with "employees" allocated to roles they were most suited to.
The tour of the factory was very impressive, with the level of automation astounding. Watching robots rivet, glue and weld parts of the frame together inside their cages was like something out of a movie. It soon became clear that any problems held up the whole production line. Students saw staff prepping the engines to be hoisted into the frames and staff inserting electric seats and connecting them. Cars and interiors can be whatever colour the customer asks for; we were told that Katie Price got hers matched to her favourite pink nail polish!
We also heard about logisitcs - apparently Land Rover only ever have five hours stock on site, so components are constantly being shipped in by suppliers - and motivation, with staff getting a percentage of the money their ideas save.
More than one student came away thinking that a career at Land Rover could be for them.
Sharon Prosser - John Taylor High School
[email protected]
Yet again, we are delighted to announce that five of our students who trialled for the England Rounders squad were successful for another year running. For some of our students, this was their first time in attending the trials.
Trials took place in late September and entailed lots of cardiovascular fitness training, coordination and reaction drills, followed by conditioned games. The girls all enjoyed themselves, but found it challenging, leaving the trial very tired at the end of the day!
We are very proud of their achievements and we wish them luck for the season ahead with England Rounders.
Congratulations to Amelia, Lily, Stephanie, Katie and Lilly.
Four teams of Year 12 Law students have entered a brand new national Legal Apprenticeship Competition!
The teams will be completing a series of tasks over the next few months - of the kind that solicitors typically deal with, which will allow them to tap into their ‘inner solicitor’. They will use skills and logic to provide legal advice for virtual clients, with the aim of giving them first-hand experience of what it is like to be a solicitor.
They will have access to webinar training videos and helpful legal factsheets - in addition to being provided with a legal mentor from Kingsley Napley to assist along the way.
A final at News UK headquarters will determine the winning team, from which one student will have the opportunity to win a legal apprenticeship at Kingsley Napley upon completion of their final year at school.
We are hoping to win as the prizes are amazing!
The winning team will receive:
- £5,000 for the school
- £500 for each student in the winning team
- One week’s work experience at Kingsley Napley
- The opportunity for each member of the team to attend an interview at Kingsley Napley for a Legal Apprenticeship.
- Each year, one such apprenticeship will be awarded. An apprenticeship is a six year period of study and employment leading to qualification as a solicitor.
- Runners up at the interview stage will be given 3 months paid employment at Kingsley Napley which will serve as a valuable internship.
For the runners up:
- £200 for each student
- £100 voucher for the teacher who encourages the most students to enter the competition
The Times will publicise the competition and feature the winning school in an article.
Watch this space! We will keep you updated on how we are getting on.
Claire Macdonald
[email protected]