The Law School Social Mobility Fund continues to deliver vital impact in the Law School, supporting students through a number of well received initiatives developed in response to the needs of our student community.

The ‘Brew and a Bite’ initiative has run for a second year, providing food, snacks and drinks for the Law School kitchens, and hygiene products for the Law School toilets, all available to be used freely by any students who need them. Feedback from students show just how valuable these acts of kindness have been: “Programmes such as ‘Brew and a Bite’ at the Law School have provided me with nutritious meals when I am short on time or money,” says one student. Another commented that it was simply, “amazing.”

The Social Mobility Fund Grants have been described by one student as the best thing that the Law School has done to support them as a widening participation student: “It allows for further freedom of time to not worry about money for food and other needs.”

A priority high on the University's agenda is to prepare our students for the world of work and to help provide opportunities to develop graduate employability skills.

The team in the Law School asked their students from a widening participation background about the biggest challenges they faced in achieving graduate careers, highlighting professional networking as a common challenge for many of them. Based on this feedback, the Law School introduced several opportunities to help face these challenges, including School Tasking and the Law School Connections Trip.

School Tasking, a concept originally set up by the University of Warwick, is an innovative project based on the ‘Taskmaster’ television programme format, which sends law students into primary schools to teach pupils about the law. At Lancaster, we fund students to deliver School Tasking sessions and train them to maximise the employability skills they gain from this valuable work experience.

Student responses to School Tasking have been overwhelmingly positive: “School Tasking is an exciting initiative providing valuable work experience for law students and positive challenges for primary school pupils,” said one student. Another student commented: “It is a fulfilling and great way to sharpen your legal knowledge while gaining relevant work experience.”

The first Law School Connections trip will take place this month, taking some of our students on a professional networking trip visiting graduate employers in the North West.

The Law School Widening Participation research project also continues this year, designed to explore the experiences and insights of our students from a widening participation background. Not only does donor funding directly support our students through the initiatives they enable, this funding also supports postgraduate co-researchers, whose findings underpin the different initiatives and developments outlined above, ensuring that the needs of our students are at the centre of what we do.

Thank you to all of our donors who support this fund. Your support goes a long way in making a difference to the lives of our students.