On Monday 15th July, 42 of our Year 12 students made the journey to Shrewsbury Prison. The original prison was built in 1793 and was then redeveloped during the Victorian era. It was decommissioned as a prison in 2013 and reopened as a tourist attraction.

The purpose of our visit was to observe and study the design of the prison, how forms of punishment have changed (e.g. the abolishment of capital punishment) and to consider how these institutions meet the aims of punishment that we have today. We were informed that the Victorians very much focussed on punishment rather than rehabilitation and if you were unlucky to have been sent to prison then all you would have had was wooden slats to sleep on. How grateful we were to see mattresses in our cells!

Before closing in 2013 the prison was more like prisons that we know today with offenders attending courses and having jobs within the walls – a much more rehabilitation centred approach. However not everything was modernised as we would expect and up until as recently as 1995 offenders had to go without toilets in their cells.

The students had bucket loads of fun and learned a huge amount about the history of the penal system and Shrewsbury prison itself. Skills came to the forefront as they had to make their own beds, solve problems in the escape rooms, take part in the ghost tour and contemplate life as a prisoner in their own cells. As a result everyone had a (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Barry the nightwatchman was a fantastic guide and host with a wealth of knowledge about various ex-prisoners and general life as both an offender and prison officer. His and the tour guides’ stories really opened the students’ eyes to the conditions of these institutions in addition to the problems that the Criminal Justice System faces today.

The students behaved impeccably and were real ambassadors for Durham Sixth Form Centre. The persistent rain didn’t dampen their spirits and despite being awoken at 6am by Barry the next morning, they went home full of excitement, reflecting fondly on a great experience.