The A level law class visited London on Wednesday to visit the Old Bailey criminal court and some other sites that we study in the OCR A level law course. The first place we went to was the Old Bailey Central Criminal Court in the centre of London. It is one of the most famous courts and handles some of the most serious and high profile criminal cases. The security is very strict so it took a bit of time to get through but once inside the court we were able to go into the public gallery and watch a live criminal case. The most interesting was a murder trial where a person had been stabbed and later died. The prosecution was summarising the case for the jury before showing pictures and cctv evidence.

After this we walked to Lincolns Inn which is where barristers have their places of work called ‘chambers’. It is a unique place in the centre of London, a bit like Oxford or Cambridge university. It is very close to the Royal Courts of Justice where we went to next. This is very awe inspiring and was built to impress people. When you go in, it is very like being in a cathedral. We did a mini tour of these courts before heading back.

The visit to the Old Bailey was a very good way for students to understand how a criminal court works because you can see all the things that you learn, going on in front of you. The prosecution and defence barristers were in front of the judge who is on a raised platform. The 12 jurors were to one side and the defendants in the secure dock area. Seeing this live will help understand the crown courts and jury part of the law course.

Written By: Adrian Ruffhead