"Street Law" project to be extended following successful trial

The "Street Law" programme, which brings legal edication into Scottish schools, is to be expanded following a successful pilot scheme.

Launched by the Law Society of Scotland last autumn, Street Law involves specially trained law students going into schools to teach pupils about how the law applies to them, through interactive workshop sessions.

Eight Glasgow and West Lothian schools took part in the pilot, and a further 23 schools in the north east, Perth & Kinross, Edinburgh, East Lothian, West Lothian, Glasgow and South Ayrshire have now signed up to join in the project. 

“It’s probably the first time a Law Society training session has been described as ‘absolute dyno’, but that was the response from one of the pupils taking part in Street Law”, said Rob Marrs, senior policy officer in the Society’s training and education team.

“All of the feedback we have had from teachers and pupils has been incredible. As a result of the hard work and enthusiasm of our first Street Law trainers – all currently studying law at Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities – and the pupils taking part, other schools across the country are now keen to get involved.

“We want the pupils taking part to realise that law isn’t some alien concept for other people but actually something that affects them every day. Street Law teaches practical aspects of the law, rather than the ‘black letter law’ that solicitors and advocates have to learn, which is relevant to the pupils’ lives. The sessions are engaging and fun but at the same time really stretch them intellectually.”

He added: “We’ve been lucky enough to get funding from the Legal Education Foundation to help with the training costs of Street Law, which included getting Sean Arthurs from Harvard and Efrain Marimon from Georgetown, the home of Street Law and where the world’s most extensive programme is organised, to lead a training weekend at the Law Society. They were really inspiring and full of great ideas and advice for our new Street Law trainers.

“The law students involved have been incredibly creative, with lessons spanning human rights, constitutional law, domestic abuse, and mock trials, but the pupils are the ones who really make Street Law happen as they drive the content and course of the lessons. So, rather than learning ‘this is what a trial looks like’, pupils are asked to take part in a mini-trial, with everyone having a role to play, or they may be asked to form juries to look at a real case and evaluate the evidence."

Edinburgh University law student Rona Macleod, a Street Law trainer at St Kentigern’s in West Lothian, commented: “I have really enjoyed my time as a Street Law trainer. The whole process of planning a lesson, getting everything ready and executing that lesson is very rewarding. Though the prospect of standing up and teaching a class of pupils can be a bit daunting, when the lesson you've put time and energy into creating is successful, and you feel that you've taught the pupils something useful, it's a great feeling.

“The extent to which the pupils were thinking about the issues and their analysis really impressed me, and they seemed to really enjoy the lesson. What was really great was that when the bell rang the pupils were still talking about the lesson.”