Year 11 Citizenship Group Visit the UK Supreme Court

On a very wet October Wednesday, the Year 11 Citizenship group headed out to visit the UK Supreme Court in Parliament Square. While it is an impressive building from the outside, it proved to be even more fascinating on the inside.

We were fortunate enough to sit in one of the main courtrooms, where we learned about the unique history of the institution. We discovered that the Supreme Court is actually quite young, having opened in October 2009 to completely separate the UK’s highest judges from the House of Lords.

Next, we visited the old library—a real treat that allowed us to see some of the ancient law books. We were also lucky enough to briefly step into a live court hearing. As the final court of appeal for the UK, the Supreme Court only hears cases of the greatest public or constitutional importance. Although the case was difficult to follow, it was intriguing to see how the legal process works in real-time. Finally, we took a quick trip through the building's permanent exhibition space.

Despite the persistent rain, we wrapped up our morning with a walk past Downing Street to see if we could catch a glimpse of the Prime Minister or any important ministers, though sadly we had no luck! Overall, it was a fantastic morning out that brought our Citizenship studies to life.