Mock murder trial for Sutton Trust Summer School students

In the depths of the Law Faculty, a trial is taking place. In the dock is a law student called Craig accused of murdering a fellow undergraduate during a late night squabble about a girl.

The atmosphere is heated and the barrister for the prosecution has been reprimanded several times by the judge.

This high drama is, of course, pure make-believe. Participants in the court today – the defence and prosecution teams, the jury and journalists, clerk and ushers – are 17-year old students spending a week at Cambridge on a law summer school, organised by the University and the Sutton Trust.

All are high-achieving pupils from non-traditional backgrounds: in almost all cases their parents did not go to university and their schools send a low proportion of pupils on to higher education, and very few to top universities.

Hot-headed Craig is played by 17-year-old George who comes from Grimsby in East Lincolnshire. He attends a comprehensive where 16 per cent of pupils achieve five or more A-Cs at GCSE. Around half the school’s pupils opt for a vocational route from year 10 and few enter the sixth form.

George’s GCSE results were the best in the school. Last year he was one of only eight pupils taking AS Biology, four taking Maths, three taking Chemistry, and one of just two taking History.

But he is ambitious and his teachers encouraged him to apply for a place on a Sutton Trust Summer School.

“My dad is a fish merchant and my mum is a nurse. They’ve always encouraged me to do well so that I get a job that doesn’t mean getting up at 4.30 am. I know of only a couple of people in the area who have got into Cambridge but that’s not going to put me off,” says George.

George was one of more than 70 academically able pupils from comprehensives around the country who spent last week at Cambridge on the second of two Sutton Trust Summer Schools.

Students stayed at Robinson and Sidney Sussex Colleges and followed courses in English, Law, Music or Physics, designed to give them a taste of university life.

On Thursday evening all pupils attended a gala dinner at Sidney Sussex College, with pre-dinner drinks in the Cloister Court, followed by a disco.

These experiences helped to dispel the myths about Cambridge. Another 17-year-old student, Kathryn, says, “I’m the only student here from my school and there’s no-one else from Wales but I’ve felt really welcome and not out of place. Everyone is friendly and the law course has been brilliant.”

Daniel Bates, one of the Law Faculty members involved in teaching at the summer school, comments, “During their week, these students get undergraduate level teaching and they rise to the challenge. They also have a lot of fun and the faculty staff enjoy working with them. The programme works really well and we see students who are the right calibre to apply to read Law at Cambridge.”

Craig’s trial ends with the jury pronouncing him “not guilty”. Craig (aka George) is jubilant. He says, “I’ve absolutely loved the week here and now I know I want to be a barrister. If my AS grades are good enough, I am going to apply to Cambridge, and I will also look at other top universities such as Durham and Warwick.”

The final summer school for 2006 – a programme run by GEEMA (the Group to Encourage Ethnic Minority Applications) - will take place from August 6 to 11. The 40 participants, aged 15 and 16, from schools all over the country will stay at Newnham College and attend talks and lectures on a variety of subjects.