BA (Hons) Childhood Studies student recently visited the Royal Courts of Justice and Criminal Crown Courts as part of a trip to London to inform their most recent module: Children, Young People, Families and Crime.
The module’s predecessor was called Sociology of Crime, which covered the same themes as the current one. Lecturer Dr. Controllah Gabi introduced one field day on which students would go to a Crown Court of their choice within Greater Manchester and sit in as many cases as they wished. Feedback from these day-outs has always been positive, and he started considering and planning the Old Bailey trip in 2018 as an extension of the Crown Court visits.
The group also visited Styal Prison twice and, again, got much positive feedback as students could link their trip experiences to their module aims and learning outcomes.
“What trips like the one to the Old Bailey do is that they introduce students to the practical workings (processes) of the Criminal Justice System of England and Wales and what decisions made in this system affect children and families to what extent. The Old Bailey trip was particularly unique as it gave students unprecedented access to critical historical information about the Royal Courts of Justice and the Central Criminal Courts (Old Bailey).” – Dr. Controllah Gabi
Sitting in court cases at the Old Bailey reinforced the conceptual information students got from the tour.
Such insights provided the needed link between book knowledge and reality, something that is missing when students are restricted to a classroom.
“Learning does not start in the classroom; it should not end in the classroom either. The students who went on the trip concur.” – Dr. Controllah Gabi
We spoke to the students to see what they thought about the trip and their experience:
“The trip was great! Thank you for organising it very informative and enjoyable.”
“I just wanted to say thank you for sorting the London trip out! We all had an amazing time!! And the courts were amazing!!”
“Such a memorable day so thank you for the opportunity 😊”
“Thank you so much for making this trip a memorable one for us all. It was such an interesting tour and learnt so much from this trip while visiting the Old Bailey.”
“It was a lovely day and a great opportunity! “
“I really enjoyed the visit to the courts today!”
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