Year 9 Visited By Her Majesty’s Prison Service

On Friday 5th June, our Year 9 students met prisoners from Her Majesty’s open prison in Ford on one of the school’s Social and Ethical Studies days organised by Mrs Simmons, Head of SES and Geography.  “Our topic for this SES day was drugs, and we wanted the students to meet people whose lives had been damaged by drinking and drug taking,” said Mrs Simmons.  “Our PCSO, Geoff Pitcher, organised for two inmates from Ford Prison to come and talk to the students about their offences, and what life was like in prison.” 

The talks were very powerful, with the inmates talking honestly to the students about their crimes, and the effect it had had on them and their families.  One of the prisoners was serving a life sentence for murdering another person under the influence of alcohol, and the other was spending a number of years in jail for holding firearms for his drug dealer.  The prisoners came from very different backgrounds, but both spoke to the students about how the drugs had taken over their lives and led them to make bad decisions.  They also explained about daily life in prison.

“I was completely shocked that prison was so brutal,” said one thoughtful student, “you hear about prisoners getting Playstations and stuff in jail in the media, but it really isn’t like that.  It sounds like a really scary place.”  Another commented on the effect alcohol had on their lives, “The prisoner started drinking in the park with his mates when he was just a teenager.  He ended up killing someone in a drunken fight, and now he can never go home.  It really made me think about the decisions I will make soon.”  One girl admitted, “I always thought that so long as you weren’t hurting anyone, it didn’t really matter, but you get mixed up in things that really do hurt other people, no matter what you think.  I could never do that to my family.”

After the guests from Ford prison left, students researched the different types of drugs people take, and the consequences of taking them.  They discussed these and presented their findings to the rest of the class.  The day was full of ethical and personal debates about the morals of drug-taking on both society and yourself, and both staff and students learnt a lot about the consequences of taking both legal and illegal drugs.

“I was really impressed with the maturity of the students, “said Holly Myers, Business & Community Manager, “They asked the prisoners some really blunt questions, and were absolutely focused on the answers.  I know many of the staff felt it was a powerful and valuable day and one we would like to repeat in the future”.

Many thanks to Her Majesty’s Prison Service and Adam and Andy from Ford for their invaluable contributions to the day.