Solicitors in schools are a success
SOLICITORS IN SCHOOLS ARE A SUCCESS
Djanogly City Academy and Freeth Cartwright Solicitors have been ‘highly commended’ in the Business in the Community ‘working in partnership’ award.
The Solicitors in Schools partnership is a collaboration between the trainee solicitors at Freeth Cartwright LLP and GCSE and A-Level Law students and staff at the Academy. The solicitors have been working with Djanogly students to help develop their understanding of law and assist them with their studies. This involves regular email contact on a range of topics from coursework guidance and career advice to personal issues such as exam nerves and problems at home. The trainee solicitors also attend the Academy for weekly lessons, assisting in the teaching of law. This enables the students to gain an insight into real life examples of law and helps put their studies into context.
The aims of the partnership are to raise the performance and aspiration of law students as well as develop the personal and professional skills of students and trainee solicitors. In the past 8 months, the 14 students that have been assigned ‘e-mentors’ have already benefited from the relationships they have made, helping them realise that a career in law or associated profession is a reality they can achieve.
The partnership was highly commended for its merits at the Business in the Community awards ceremony held recently and this has inspired the partnership to continue to further develop the project. With new trainees and new students joining the scheme in September, the aim is to plan trips to the courts and parliament buildings, as well as have the trainees teach some of the law lessons with assistance from teachers.
Richard Tempest-Mitchell, year 13 learning leader at Djanogly said “We are delighted our solicitors in schools partnership has been recognised as a success. Our students have gained a lot from having access to solicitors and I believe it strengthens their determination to pursue a career in the legal field. A lot of them have formed good relationships with their mentors and have received good guidance from them over the past 8 months.”
ends - 11 June 2009