This morning, Year 6 have participated in a highly informative and interactive ‘Magistrates in the Community’ workshop.
At the beginning of the session, the magistrates explained what they do and how the criminal law system works in this country. Year 6 were then quizzed in teams on the legal ages of various actions including riding a bike on the pavement, the age of criminal responsibility, how old you have to be to do babysitting, having a part-time job, buying alcohol, owning a pet and getting married. We then discussed a scenario in which an elderly lady was mugged and had her bag stolen and the consequences of this for her.
After break, the classroom was transformed into a courtroom and the children acted out a scripted case from the magistrates’ court, in which a teenager was accused of shoplifting. We heard from both the defence and the prosecution before the magistrates retired to consider their verdict. The children asked some really insightful questions and gave thoughtful comments to the questions they were posed. It was a fascinating insight into democracy and law in England and Wales and a real life lesson!
