Year 13 Law and Sociology students attended a conference about life 'Behind Bars' on 11th February. The event, supported by Aimhigher, provided students with the opportunity to speak to released prisoners, a Prison Officer and a Forensic Psychologist.

Year 13 Law and Sociology students attended a conference about life 'Behind Bars' on 11th February. The event, supported by Aimhigher, provided students with the opportunity to speak to released prisoners, a Prison Officer and a Forensic Psychologist.  It also helped to support the students' understanding of the Penal System as both Law and Sociology courses include units on Crime and Deviance at A2 level.

During the morning, students were given an insight into the day to day running of a prison through an interactive fashion show, where students, including Sidra Hussain, were invited to wear prison attire whilst listening to a presentation by a Prison Officer.  They were then invited to analyse 'real life' cases, taking the role of either prosecution or defence.  Each group had a spokesperson who presented their argument to the other students before a decision was made.

After lunch, students were split into small groups for a question and answer session with released prisoners who had served between four and twenty seven years in prison.  Students were given the opportunity to find out about the realities of prison life and some of the injustices that can sometimes occur.  The released prisoners were open and honest about their experiences and the students relished the chance to find out more about the crimes they had committed. 

Kayleigh Dunnigan, A2 Sociology student explained what she found most useful about the day, "I found the 'Behind Bars' conference very informative and interesting.  It helped me to understand lots more about crime, deviance and prison life.  I found all of the members of the group were really interesting and open with the audience.  I strongly recommend this conference to other students."
 
Miss Bell, Head of Year 13 was also impressed, "The students thoroughly enjoyed the conference and felt the afternoon session really helped to support their learning and the syllabus they are studying".