News via RSS
Sign up to our newsletter
Business and economy
Children and young people
Culture and sport
Education and skills
Environment and countryside
Equality and diversity
Health and social care
Housing and community
Improving public services
International
Local government
Older people
Planning
Social justice
Statistics
Sustainable development
Tourism
Transport
Welsh language
Closing soon (7)
Recently Added (10)
While Assembly Members continue to debate issues around distinct legal jurisdiction issues, 20 Year 12 pupils from ten schools will be putting their views forward to Theodore Huckle QC, Counsel General and Welsh Government’s chief legal adviser, as part of a three-day Step up to Law Summer School initiative.
With the aim of giving young people firsthand experience of the study of law and the workings of the legal profession, the Summer School is run in collaboration with Swansea University and part of the Valleys Law Initiative. It is targeted at pupils attending schools without a strong tradition of progression to higher education but who have an interest in the possibility of pursuing a career in law.
Developed around this year’s theme of ‘Law and Government’, the Summer School will also see the pupils tour the National Assembly for Wales in the Bay, learn more about the government in Wales, studying law at university, and other aspects of student life across the three-days. Other activities will include research, project work and practical workshops, and a presentation by each pupil of their work.
Cardiff University’s Professor Norman Doe, who established the initiative in 2002, said:
"The Valleys Law Initiative was originally set up to encourage pupils to consider the possibility of studying law at university. The Summer School is an integral part of this initiative, and each year the quality of the pupils, and their energy and enthusiasm, has been outstanding – they are a credit to their schools. At the event, the pupils explore the role of law in society, its pervasiveness in the life of individuals, and its fundamental place in seeking to secure social cohesion and justice."
Theodore Huckle QC said:
"As someone fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity of going to university and pursuing a career in the legal profession, I am determined to do what I can to encourage pupils who may not have considered going to university, to consider doing so.
"For many of the pupils I had the pleasure of meeting, devolution has been a reality for most of their lives. In only a few weeks, we will witness a hugely significant event in our country’s constitutional history, when the first Assembly Act passed under our new powers is granted Royal Assent by the Queen. It is a very exciting time to be a lawyer in Wales.
"I’m very pleased to have been given the opportunity to share my experiences of higher education, and to provide them with an insight into the legal profession – including my work as Counsel General for Wales. I wish them every success."
The Step up to Law Summer School is just one of a number being run by Cardiff University’s Widening Access Team this week to encourage students without a strong tradition of progression to university education to consider professional careers. A further 60 pupils will attend a three-day Access to the Professions Summer School which aim to raise aspirations to a wider selection of professional careers including medicine, pharmacy, physiotherapy and business.
