COURT IN THE PAST

LOCATION: NOTTINGHAM, LONDON

In this interactive courtroom workshop, students will examine a historical case and will then prepare and present a trial based on the evidence available. Students will:

• Learn about the law and justice system
• Explore the roles in a courtroom
• Prepare and enact a trial based on their chosen case
• Discuss and debate real historical sentencing options and compare these to sentencing options in the present day
• Gain a better understanding of the law and justice system and be encouraged to think about their own rights and responsibilities

Some of our cases are site specific, see the case summaries below for more information.

Curriculum links include: PSHE, Citizenship, English, History and Law

Key Stage 2 Themes Available:

• Victorian Children
  • London - the case of John Greening, 11 years old, who was accused of stealing a quart of gooseberries in 1873.
  • Nottingham - the case of Isabella Meakin, 11 years old, who is accused of stealing clothing and a tablecloth in 1830.
• Suffragettes
  • It is 1912 and one of the leaders of the Suffragettes, Emmeline Pankhurst is accused of inciting others to maliciously and unlawfully damage property.
• Protest and Riots
  • Nottingham - the case of Valentine Marshall, 17 years old, who was accused of inciting a riot during the Reform Bill Rights in 1832.

Key Stage 3 Themes Available:

• Suffragettes
  • It is 1912 and one of the leaders of the Suffragettes, Emmeline Pankhurst is accused of inciting others to maliciously and unlawfully damage property.
• Protest and Riots
  • London - the case of Jack Shaw, accused of causing grievous bodily harm to a police officer in 1936 during violent clashes between the far-right British Union of Fascists and counter-protestors, which later became known as the Cable Street Riots.
  • Nottingham - the case of Valentine Marshall, 17 years old, who was accused of inciting a riot during the Reform Bill Rights in 1832

Key Stage 4 Themes Available:

• ‘Blazing Car’ Murder 
  • the case of Alfred Rouse who, whilst purportedly seeking to fabricate his own death, was accused of murdering and burning to death an unknown victim inside his car in the 1930s, later becoming known as the Blazing Car Murder.
• Suffragettes (for case summary see Key Stage 3 themes above)
• Protest and Riots (for case summary see Key Stage 3 themes above)

Key Stage 5 & University Level Themes Available:

• Suffragettes (for case summary see Key Stage 3 themes above)
• Protest and Riots (for case summary see Key Stage 3 themes above)
• 'Blazing Car' Murder (for case summary see Key Stage 3 themes above)
  
• The ‘Brighton Trunk’ Murders 
  • the case of Toni Mancini who, following the discovery of a series of bodies found in trunks (suitcases), is accused of the murder of Violet Kaye in 1934.
• Capital Punishment: Derek Bentley 
  • the case of Derek Bentley, who under the principle of joint enterprise, stands accused of murdering a police officer, but it was his friend who fired the fatal shot.