Most young people learn UK law through watching others follow it - with varying levels of success. After years of immersion, we, as a society, assume that the youth have seen enough and will more or less function in the outside world.

This begs the question: what do school-leavers actually know about the laws that guide our society? After all, if we believe schools should equip young people with skills for life, then surely teaching them the basic rules and regulations of their country of residence is a fundamental part of that.

I strongly believe that students should understand basic UK laws before they leave secondary education, and here are four reasons why you should believe it, too.

1. Empowerment

This generation is politically active. Many are driven to better the world around them. Teaching young people to recognise and respond to incidents such as hate crime, sex discrimination and revenge porn, as well as to use the pathways to report them, may encourage more people to mobilise against racism, xenophobia and inequality. We have PSHE in every school, so incorporating a simple six-week law course into it, once per year, could enlighten students and help them to stand up for themselves and others based on factual legal knowledge.

2. Caution

Students do not always recognise the rules that restrain them or empower them. Teaching students the difference between voicing a controversial opinion and hate speech could help to avoid bad blood both inside and outside of the classroom. It may also teach students to accept that different opinions to their own can exist under a legal framework, and help them to understand the difference between contrary politics and illegal or extremist narratives. This would not only reinforce their knowledge of the law but also help them to navigate the internet in a more critical manner.

3. Opportunity

If we accept that young people learn about UK law largely through modelling the behaviours around them, then we should expect a notable variation in their outcomes. To presume that a student who is a new arrival from another continent has the same understanding and skills to navigate the rules and regulations in their new society as a long-term British resident seems illogical - so why do we assume that this knowledge is inherent? By teaching basic UK law to all students, we are not only empowering young people but also helping them to recognise when their rights and liberties - or those of someone else - are being infringed and where to go when they see this happening. No child should be left vulnerable.

4. Distinctions

Here are some - not uncommon - quotes from students: “I take the fifth.” “It’s a free country - I can say what I want.” “Life means life.” Do these statements sound familiar? They shouldn’t. They are based on US, not British, law. Many students struggle to distinguish between the two. As information sponges, students often absorb their legal knowledge from the media, a substantial amount of which is American. As a result, we have a generation who are unaware of the laws that both protect and regulate them, which could have profound consequences.

To conclude, we have a new generation who are aspiring to fix the ills that they recognise within society - so we should give them the tools to do it. Teaching the laws on subjects ranging from equality to contracts would offer young people the fundamentals that they deserve to know before entering the wider world - fundamentals that could help them long after the school gates close.

Elizabeth Kitto is a Prevent education officer in London

This article originally appeared in the 21 August 2020 issue