BPP Pro Bono Centre’s Streetlaw team goes global: inspiring the next generation of lawyers in California 

BPP’s Streetlaw project is one of the many volunteering projects that BPP staff, students and learners can support through volunteering with the Pro Bono Centre. The project’s key objectives are to:

1. Increase access to justice (by providing individuals with free legal information which they might not otherwise have access to (e.g. in relation to their employment or consumer rights);
2. Support social mobility (by inspiring young people to consider law as a potential career route); and 
3. Enhancing the skill set and work experiences of our BPP students and learners (by providing opportunities for them to deliver interactive workshops to live audiences, both in-person and online).

Over the years our BPP volunteers have introduced thousands of young people to the possibility of a career in law through our ‘Goldilocks on Trial!’ workshop where Goldilocks stands accused of stealing porridge and causing criminal damage to the Three Bears’ beloved chair. By playing the different roles in the trial (judge, jury, witnesses), the audience gain a basic knowledge of the criminal justice system – and hopefully get inspired to think about working in the legal field! Many of the schoolchildren we work with may not have had direct contact with people who have gone on to higher education or a career in the legal profession, and so it is fantastic to give them some insight into the legal world from a very young age.  

This academic year, we have already had the pleasure of working with over 300 children in Year 7 from Shireland Collegiate Academy in Birmingham, who did a thoroughly convincing job in their court room roles (the Academy’s twitter post about the event can be found here:  https://bit.ly/3wKr4ZS)! We would also like to congratulate our impressive team of volunteer presenters – Danielle, Gabrielle and Khairat – who took on the challenge of delivering our first ever Streetlaw ‘Goldilocks on Trial’ to an overseas audience. Schoolchildren attending a public, tuition fee-free school based in California were given the opportunity to take part in the Goldilocks trial remotely and reflect on some of the key differences between our respective criminal justice systems.  

The schoolteacher had this to say after the event:  

“Thank you so very much for guiding our class through the trial of Goldilocks! The students thoroughly enjoyed the experience and I am confident that they will remember this trial for some time to come! Perhaps you’ve inspired one of them to pursue a career in law!” 

Our Goldilocks on Trial workshop is targeted at children aged 8 – 11 years old and is available for delivery online (or potentially face-to-face if a school is located near to one of our campuses).  Please contact streetlawteam@bpp.com to enquire about booking this workshop for your school.