We were delighted to welcome to Norwich School recently Professor Peter Mirfield, former Governor and highly respected, retired Professor of Law at multiple Colleges at Oxford University.

Professor Mirfield put a group of the school’s budding lawyers, scholars and critical thinkers through their intellectual paces on 15 June on site.

Following an inspiring introduction to the academic subject of Law and the necessary critical rigour required to study this subject at the highest level, Professor Mirfield led discussion on a number of worked examples relating to the Theft Act 1968 and concluded with an in-depth analysis of a particularly celebrated and knotty legal case that went to Appeal (Fagan v Metropolitan Police Commissioner).

Professor Mirfield’s fierce intellect and perspicacity was on show throughout the session, yet he showed great patience in leading discussion of some nuanced legal conundrums with our Year 12 pupils. Professor Mirfield was intrigued to learn of some of the school’s distinguished legal alumni whose large number include Sir Edward Coke, often consider the pre-eminent jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras and more recently Tom Little KC, who regularly prosecutes some of the country’s most high-profile cases, including the murder of Jo Cox MP, the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard and the murder of Sir David Amess MP. 

To close, the group was treated to a working lunch with the Professor and an open discussion. We hope our L6 pupils left feeling inspired and better able to make informed choices for their life beyond Norwich School.