Political debate was high on the agenda from the very start of the day as meeting up with our sister schools in Parliament Square by the statue of Winston Churchill triggered a lively conversation about the appropriateness and political nature of statues in the area. After that came the tour of Parliament itself where students were able to spend time in both the House of Lords and Commons chambers and reflect on some of the key roles and pieces of legislation passed and scrutinised in these rooms.  Students were impressed by the grandeur of the building but also enjoyed the opportunity to place their learning into context. This was followed by an excellent workshop on the creation and process of laws using some recent examples of mooted new laws. The students then had a parliamentary style debate on whether to introduce a law that legalised euthanasia.  

After a well deserved break from such weighty topics the trip moved across Parliament Square to the Supreme Court, and after perusing an exhibit outlining the history of the Supreme Court, students were given a fantastic tour of the building and all three very impressive court rooms.  Both students and staff were particularly impressed by the modern courtroom 2 which had paintings of women who had been instrumental in the history of law in the UK, including Baroness Hale, who held the role of President of the Supreme Court.  Taking on the role of Supreme Justices and barristers, the students debated a famous human rights case from a few years ago and also considered the court’s tricky role in providing justice to British territories with different laws and customs.  Finishing the day inspired, the words of another pioneering champion of social justice, Eleanor Roosevelt, was particularly poignant (and inscribed in a beautiful glass wall in courtroom 2):  “Justice cannot be for one side alone but must be for both” .