Duchess Invites Pupils to Court
Students from the Royal Alexandra and Albert School had a day in court on 26th April. They accompanied the Duchess of Gloucester for a lunch at the Old Bailey in London with judges and other organisations supported by the Duchess.
The group first attended a short talk by The Recorder of London, the senior Circuit Judge at the Old Bailey about the workings of the criminal courts.
Oliver Berry, Year 12 student, attended the event and said, “It was a very different experience, particularly having lunch with a room full of judges wearing their regalia. At first, the formal setup made the lunch a bit intimidating, but once we started chatting to the judges who sat near us it was very interesting.”
After lunch, students were taken on a short tour of the Grand and Lower Halls of the Old Bailey. However, the day wasn’t over as Oliver explained: “We went into a court room and listened to a manslaughter case that was being heard. We weren’t in there for very long, perhaps 15 minutes, but it was great to see the justice system in action.”
Headmaster, Mark Dixon, who joined students for the event, said “We were delighted that the Duchess invited us to this event. It was good for students to be able to visit the Old Bailey, meet judges in an informal setting and get an insight into the legal system.”
03 May 2017
