On the 22nd March, year 13 law students visited the two most famous courts in the UK – and possibly the world: The Old Bailey, the UK Central Crown Court, and the Royal Court of Justice, which houses the UK High Courts and Court of Appeal.

Upon arriving at The Old Bailey, students removed from their person of all the trappings of modern life: phones; smartwatches; sweets and even hand sanitiser. No liquids, electronics, edibles, large objects, sharp objects etc are allowed in this famous public building. After the items had been deposited in a nearby shop, students queued to enter the courts and go through airport style security. At last, we were able to climb the hundreds of stairs and find an open court with an interesting case.

The case watched was that of a murder carried out by a teenager in August 2022. In the dock, the teenager looked extremely young and the students were surprised to discover that he was actually 18, though was alleged to have committed the attack when only 17. The students were able to listen to two witness testimonies, including cross examination. The moment of excitement happened when a juror’s phone bleeped, clearly receiving a notification, and the judge issued a severe reprimand – just like school!

After the Old Bailey, we walked to The Strand and entered the beautiful Royal Courts of Justice. The students were given the challenge to find ‘Lord Woolf’ and off they went exploring the fantastic hallway, various corridors and individual courts. Eventually the coathanger creation of the famous judge who revolutionised UK Civil law procedure was found.

A fantastic day was had by all – at last students were able to witness law in action live and feel part of some of our most interesting UK institutions.