Supreme Court Debate Days now open for applications

Do you teach pupils or students law, history or politics? Would you like to give your students the chance to debate at the UK Supreme Court?

The Supreme Court offers ten educational institutions from across the UK the opportunity to take part in a debate day every academic year.

Debate Days start with an introductory tour of the Supreme Court, followed by an interactive quiz. In the afternoon, students are split into groups (‘for’ and ‘against’ a legal question) where they work on constructing and formulating their argument assisted by Supreme Court staff, trained barristers and solicitors.

A third group of students act as judges, considering the strength of the arguments put before them on the point of law at stake. The students are then given the unique opportunity to debate in one of the Supreme Court’s courtrooms followed by a general Q&A session with a panel of lawyers.

Students are able to choose their preferred debate from a variety of topics, all of which relate to cases previously heard by the Supreme Court. Each debate enables students to not only look at the point of law raised in the case but also gives them an opportunity to debate the wider issue.

These workshops provide students with the opportunity to learn about the separation of powers, the role of the highest court in the land and the constitutional significance of the Supreme Court, in addition to developing their critical thinking and public speaking skills.

Debate Day workshops are intended for pupils in S4 to S6 in Scotland, GCSE or A Level (or equivalent) pupils in England and Wales, or years 11 to 14 in Northern Ireland.

Please note that all groups must ensure that there is a minimum of 15 students before booking and that there are two teachers available to accompany groups any larger than this. The court cannot accommodate groups with more than 25 students.

The closing date for applications is midnight on Wednesday 28 February 2018.

Full details of the Debate Days are available on the Supreme Court website