Year 9 and Year 12 visited by Christopher Jeans KC

Yesterday, Wednesday 10th July, Herne Bay High School was delighted to welcome Christopher Jeans KC into school to speak with some of our Year 9 students and Year 12.

Christopher attended a comprehensive school in Enfield, North London and went on to graduate at Kings College London before obtaining his Post Graduate Law Degree (BCL) at St John’s Oxford. Christopher was called to the bar in 1980 and went on to practise as a full-time barrister from 1983. He was appointed as QC in 1997 and has spent over 30 years leading many cases in the field of employment and discrimination law in the highest UK and European courts.

Whilst Christopher is now semi-retired, he volunteers his time to speak in schools to inspire students who aspire to be what they want but with a focus of – do something you enjoy and build good relationships.

He started the talk by asking our students if they knew what they wanted to do when they leave school. Some did, and he said, “that’s okay, the rest of you will want to study Law by the end of this talk”.

He described his working week, which included flying to Luxembourg to represent a big case at the European Court of Law. He has represented another client in the highest court in the UK. He was animated and passionate about his career pathway and achievements while highlighting the importance of studying and hard work.

Christopher recounted some of the very interesting cases he has handled and the varied clients he had represented, including famous footballers and celebrities.

Our students asked pertinent questions about what Christopher studied at school and whether he passed all his exams, as well as what his proudest achievement to date was.  He was very open and honest with his answers. He encouraged students to work hard to achieve good GCSE/A Level results and to take every opportunity afforded to them. He was very encouraging about the diversity of people that are now joining chambers and the bar due to the improved accessibility to opportunities, funding and scholarships being available. Christopher very kindly offered to stay in touch with our students and gave some great tips about work experience opportunities.