Students from East Norfolk Sixth Form College in Gorleston have been getting out of the classroom to benefit from hands on experience in their learning.
Public services, law and politics students from East Norfolk Sixth Form descended on Westminster recently for their annual visit and tour.
The students were shown around the House of Commons and were lucky enough to catch some of the countries senior MP's speaking in the house. They heard Theresa May make a statement on the draft Investigatory Powers Bill and speaker, John Bercow, handling a heated points of order session.
Students were also treated to a tour of the Palace of Westminster to discover the history of the famous building including Central Lobby and Westminster Hall. It was a privilege to stand on the site of so many famous historical events.
Following the tour the students participated in an interactive workshop with the Parliament Education Service on the creation of laws. This allowed some of the group to show off their knowledge of what they had learnt in college regarding the creation of legislation. For some students, politics is a new subject to them and the visit allowed them to gain an understanding of the political process and learn from their peers.
Following the workshop the students had a question and answer session with Helen Hill, Brandon Lewis' chief of staff, as Brandon Lewis was unable to attend due to other Government business. This gave the students the opportunity to learn about the various roles within Parliament.
Legal minded students recently competed in the Bar National Mock Trial Competition.
The contest is a legal research and advocacy competition run by the Citizenship Foundation in order to develop students' employability skills.
The students, all of whom are studying A Level or BTEC Law at the college, volunteered to take on and prepare for the roles of barrister, witness, defendant, clerk, usher or jury member. All legal arguments were prepared by the students outside of lesson time, with barrister mentor, Selina Bungsraz kindly offering her time to assist with advocacy tips prior to the competition day.
Law teacher, Ros Ellis said; 'The competition offers an unparalleled opportunity for students to practice working as a team, improve their confidence when public speaking and delve into the intricacies of different questioning techniques used by advocates in criminal cases.'
The cases revolved around the law on theft, robbery and obtaining services by deception. The whole team put their heart and soul into the performances but were sadly pipped at the post by deserving winners, Saffron Walden County High School.
The East Norfolk team members were Olivia Knight, Savannah Mills, Ellie Hagan, Frances Lear, James Allen, Lewis Moore, Tiffany Smith, Oliver Goldsworthy, Jamie-Leigh Dyball, Rianna Coote, Shannon Ford, Peifei Chen, Anne Manalo, Karolina Gradzinska and Sophia Hunter.
Environmental studies students paid a trip to the RSPB reserve at Minsmere, home of BBC Springwatch.
The group gained a valuable insight into the science behind running one of the country's leading nature reserves.
The students started the day with an introduction by learning officer, Chris Ford, from the history of the reserve as a Second World War defensive line to the current wildlife haven, learning how the RSPB has managed the reserve to help out some of our rarest species.
After a session in the discovery centre classroom, students were kitted out with binoculars and headed to bittern hide to look out over the extensive reed bed to see how this dynamic habitat is managed for wildlife and for visitors.
Within moments of entering the hide the students were treated to the spectacular sight of a marsh harrier gliding over the reeds just in front of the hide before it settled down to perch on a willow tree. As they prepared to leave, a bittern decided to fly right in front of them before landing and disappearing into the dense reed bed.
The group then visited other parts of the reserve investigating how and why different habitats are managed as they are from seasonal paths to coastal defences, from modern visitor facilities to the Springwatch studio. The day finished with a visit to the Scrape to see one of Minsmere's most successful and most influential managed habitats.
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