Aspiring lawyer wins prize

Tom’s essay, which grappled with a complex legal issue, was selected from an exceptionally competitive international field to win a place at the elite university’s online legal workshops.

Corpus Christi College outreach officer Katharine Baysan said Tom’s entry in the legal reasoning competition was highly commended in a group of 84 particularly strong entries as a result of its strength of argument and clarity of writing.

“It clearly engaged with the materials and sought to understand their meaning and effect,” she said.

Tom, from Burton Leonard, studying psychology, biology and design technology at A-level, had to analyse, using legislative texts, how the law would apply to a case revolving around negligence for his entry to the Peter Cane Legal Reasoning Prize.

He decided to enter the competition in order to put recent knowledge gained after doing some wider law reading to good use.

“I thought it would also be beneficial to gain some extra research skills which would be helpful for my extended project qualification (EPQ) and for life after school,” he said.

Tom has been examining whether Whole Life Orders are justified on the basis of human rights and criminal justice for his EPQ during lockdown.

“Offenders can spend their whole life in prison without possibility of parole and I’m examining whether it’s acceptable to remove their hope as well as their liberty.”

The 17-year-old, who volunteers at the Ripon Walled Garden and is hoping to complete his Gold Duke of Edinburgh award this year, has also begun virtual work experience with corporate law firm White & Case over lockdown.

“Although the tasks are rigorous and difficult, they are hugely informative and give me an insight into commercial law which I hope to go into in the future.”

He has also entered the UK Supreme Court Student Writing Competition, this time discussing stop and search powers in the UK.

“What caught my attention for this competition is the first prize - spend a day at the Supreme Court and have tea with a judge. It’s unlikely I’ll win.”