Society releases video on Street Law schools project

A video showing its pilot "Street Law" schools outreach initiative in action has been released by the Law Society of Scotland.

Street Law aims to bring the law to life in the classroom, by informing young people about the law and the impact it has on their everyday lives, through looking at murder trials, how the law can protect the environment, or using social media. It is delivered over eight sessions at each school, with the help of law students and graduates who are trained for the purpose.

Pupils in Glasgow and West Lothian have been taking part in the pilot, which the Society hopes to extend to more schools and local authorities.

Rob Marrs, senior policy and development manager at the Society, commented: “Street Law is about as far from a traditional law lecture as you can imagine. It is a course in practical law and focuses on how the law affects people in ordinary, everyday situations.

“The pupils taking part are set to learn about how the law impacts upon them as citizens and also how they can shape their society as well as helping them develop their academic, critical thinking and communications skills."

Andrew Sharkey, headteacher at St Kentigern’s in Blackburn, one of the schools involved, added: “This is a fantastic project. The Street Law sessions have been challenging, but also great fun. We have been working closely with the Law Society and the law students to devise interesting and relevant lessons. The pupils have enjoyed taking part and are learning a huge amount about the role law plays in our lives – and being part of the project has inspired some of our pupils to think about to studying law in the future.”

Click here to access the video. An article featuring an interview with one of the law students involved will be in the December edition of the Journal.