Students Claim Places on Prestigious Social Mobility Law Programme

Seven Birkenhead Sixth Form College students have been accepted onto a prestigious programme that encourages those from less privileged backgrounds to take up careers in Law.

Chloe Carr, Yasmin Davies, Jamie Finch, Abigail Fowler, Olivia Liston, Megan Martlew and Michael Powell all have their sights set on jobs in the legal field via university, making them ideal candidates to take advantage of the Sutton Trust’s Pathways to Law scheme.

The Sutton Trust, whose missions include improving social mobility through education, established the programme in 2006 with the Legal Education Foundation charity and leading law firms and universities.  Pathways to Law has already helped 2,000 students. After research from the Trust showed that the top echelons of the legal realm were occupied by people from a narrow range of social backgrounds, and law firms were not making full use of the talents of students from non-privileged homes.

The seven College students will start their sessions with Pathways to Law in November at the University of Liverpool and those sessions will last into their second year. The opportunity involves working with Law academics and undergraduates to better understand specific aspects of Law and what it takes to study the subject at university, before taking up work experience placements at well-respected law firms across Merseyside. All activities and travel are fully funded by the Sutton Trust.

First year Law student, Olivia Liston, said: “I thought it was a really good opportunity so I applied and I’m really happy to have got on the programme.”

Olivia, who studies Psychology, Religious Studies and Sociology along with Law, continued: “Law’s always been an interest of mine but there was never the option to study Law at GCSE at my high school, so I had to wait to come here. When I came to the Open Evening at the College, the Law teachers all seemed to be really good as they’d all been lawyers or solicitors before. That was one of the main reasons that I chose to come to the College because Law’s something I definitely want to go into.”

The future lawyer explained: “These kinds of programme are really important for people from less privileged backgrounds. We’ve not had many opportunities where I’m from to do things associated with universities – even going to look around or go to open days because travel has been an issue. Being the first person in my family to go to university, getting involved in the Pathways to Law was an opportunity that was too good to miss out on, especially because it’s through the College so you can feel more prepared before you get there.”

Fellow first year Law student, Abigail Fowler, who is aiming for a career at the Bar, agreed, saying: “Neither of my parents went to university, and at one point, I was saying to myself ‘well, my mum and dad have done alright for themselves without it, so why should I go’? But then I realised that, if I want to be a barrister, going to university would give the best platform for my own career.”

Abigail, from Ellesmere Port, said: “The programme can give me a better understanding of Law itself. It’s still very new to me at the moment but it can only help my transition into the career that I want. I think it’ll help me at university too if I have a good basis of knowledge about the practices and what’s involved in everyday life in the job.”

Yasmin Davies concluded: “The programme offers a lot of opportunities. The work experience can give you a proper feel as to whether you can see yourself working in Law.

“Some people will look at those in the legal profession and assume a lot about their background or how intelligent they are. They maybe forget that’s it’s down to the hard work they put in and how much effort has gone towards the career. I think this kind of programme goes to emphasise that.”

More Birkenhead Sixth Form College students go on to study Law at university than any other Wirral sixth form, and it is the most popular degree subject chosen by our students.