A SCHOOLGIRL has been inspired to become a forensic scientist through a new scheme to give students an insight into how courts work.

Year 11 student Hannah Prince was among the first groups of schoolchildren to visit Oxford Crown Court in St Aldate’s as part of the Getting Court project.

The charitable enterprise was set up last year to give groups of teenagers the chance to see how the criminal justice system works.

School groups are taken into the court room, given a short explanation by one of the judges about what is happening, then allowed to sit in on a variety of hearings, trials and sentencings.

The Lord Lieutenant, mayors and delegates were invited to the court on Thursday night to hear from Hannah, who goes to Gosford Hill School in Kidlington, about the benefits of the scheme.

The 15-year-old, who lives in Fencott, near Bicester, was so inspired by her chat with Judge Peter Ross she now wants to get enough good GCSEs and go on to study forensic science.

She added: “I learnt that no matter how much you mess up in life you can always learn from it and be successful.

“It inspired me. The judge said ‘you can succeed in anything if you believe in it’.

“It’s quite hard but if I believe in it I can do it.

“I haven’t found school easy, but I want to get 10 GCSEs at A* to C.

“I left court with lots to think about.”

Getting Court was set up by Oxfordshire’s High Sheriff Tom Birch Reynardson to educate children about the court system and show them how criminals are sentenced when they admit crimes or are found guilty by a jury.

Hannah said the court setting was very different from how it is often depicted on television. She said: “I didn’t really know what to expect, but I never thought I would get the chance to see something so interesting.

“The atmosphere in court was tense and very serious. It’s completely different from the programmes I have seen on TV. It was scary but interesting.”

Teacher Stephanie Clinch said the pupils are first taught about the judicial process and how the court system works, reading newspapers – including the Oxford Mail – to find out about past cases.

After court the class discussed the cases, the effects of drugs and alcohol and the crimes, which have included violence, burglary and sex crimes.

Ms Clinch, head of house and head of alternative curriculum, said the school recognised the potential of the project to either act as a “fantastic opportunity or a cautionary tale” for the students.

She added: “Getting Court has had a significant impact on our students. We have not reached them all but we have made a difference to some, and some is all the difference. It puts a face on crime, that’s the reality of it.”

Judge Ross, who has hosted groups in his courts, said the scheme has been a huge success.

He added: “It is amazing. I have been hugely impressed by the range of responses from the children and they have all been hugely positive.

“It takes the glamour away from crime and shows people what it’s really like and how a single wrong turn can have such catastrophic consequences.

“But more widely than that it’s hugely important just in terms of preparing children to be decent citizens.”