School pupils learn about Child Soldiers in project supported by Wards Solicitors

Local school pupils have been learning about the important issue of child soldiers thanks to an education programme strongly supported by Wards Solicitors.

We are members of the Schools Law & Citizenship Web, an imaginative scheme which brings teachers and lawyers together to introduce young people to the legal system and other important aspects of citizenship.

The project uses current news stories to bring topics to life in the classroom.

The recent ruling of the International Criminal Court in The Hague that African warlord Thomas Lubanga was guilty of using child soldiers, some as young as nine, in a brutal conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, focused the eyes of the world on this desperate and widespread problem.

Shortly after the verdict, primary and secondary schools were supplied with classroom worksheets which examined the issue of child soldiers in an appropriate and sensitive manner.

Like all Schools Law Web materials, the worksheets were produced by practising classroom teachers.

Wards Solicitors is very pleased to be part of such a practical project that helps our schools make young people more aware of important issues such as this, as well as the role the law can play when things go wrong in society.