The Law Society of Ireland has for the first time opened its doors, and classrooms, to the students of Stanhope Street Girls School to teach them not about a law, but coding.

The ‘Everyone Can Code’ project is a voluntary initiative of the Law Society’s Education Centre and aims to teach the primary school pupils important skills like problem solving, cyber security and the basics of coding.

Students coding

Directory General of the Law Society Ken Murphy said the initiative is a wonderful example of how the Law Society works with the local community in Dublin 7.

“The Law Society is proud to welcome the sixth class students of Stanhope Street to learn about technology and coding. We are lucky to have the facilities and staff to run a pilot project like this,” said Mr Murphy.

“Education is a core element of the Law Society’s values. Learning to code helps young minds think in a logical and methodical way. The students can bring the skills learned through the Everyone Can Code project with them through the rest of their education and even into their future careers,” he said.

The Stanhope Street students will graduate from the Everyone Can Code programme on Wednesday 22 May at a ceremony taking place at the Law Society.

“I hope to welcome some of these students back to the Law Society again in their journeys to become our solicitors of the future,” said Mr Murphy.

Apple school

The Law Society follows the Apple Everyone Can Code curriculum during the six-week programme. The Society is also an ‘Apple Distinguished School’ and provides each student with an iPad to use during class time.

The status of ‘Apple Distinguished School’ is awarded to outstanding schools and programmes worldwide who have incorporated Apple technology into their teaching model to become centres of innovation, leadership and educational excellence.

The Law Society became the first professional educator in Europe to receive the award in 2016 and was recently re-accredited until 2021.

Solicitors of the future

The Law Society also offers a number of other community education initiatives, including Solicitors of the Future and Street Law.

Solicitors of the Future is an innovative Transition Year (TY) work experience programme which provides students with an introduction to the solicitor’s profession and encourages them to consider a career in law.

The activity-based programme is facilitated by Law Society staff, trainee solicitors and expert practitioners and is delivered at the Law Society each year in early February.  It features a visit to the Criminal Courts of Justice, a tour of a large commercial firm, guest speakers, a careers seminar and a mock trial, and more.

Street Law

The Law Society has run its Street Law programme since 2013. Street Law is an initiative which places trainee solicitors studying at the Law Society in local schools to teach about law in a practical way

Each year over 40 volunteer trainee solicitors take part and teach the course to Transition Year students at partnering DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) schools in the local community.

Street Law allows the school students to see how the law affects their daily lives and helps promote lifelong civic engagement. To date, over 3,000 students have completed the programme.

The Law Society also offers the use of its Blackhall Place facilities to local schools for sports days and physical education initiatives.

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