This is a visit that we use to enthuse our GCSE students about some of the themes they are taught about as part of their History of Crime and Punishment study. As part of the day we visit the various themed exhibitions in the old court rooms and gaols of Nottingham’s Shire Court. The students could learn about punishment, prisons and trials of the past. It acted as a good revision lesson and also made real the topics we have been learning about in lessons.

This year the classes re-enacted a trial that looked at the pros and cons of public execution in the 19th Century. Students took the parts of judges, jury, barristers and witnesses who argued for and against its retention. This was within the context of the real life murder case of William Saville. We then debated the outcomes and issues surrounding the trial.