Humans of Warwick - Dr Ali Struthers

Dr Ali Struthers

Associate Professor - Reader, School of Law

“Outside of work I’m a passionate Munro bagger.”

“I’m originally from Aberdeen but consider myself more of an Edinburgh girl, having moved there to study at the age of 17. It’s a beautiful city and a great place to spend your formative years.

After doing my Masters at Edinburgh Law School, I wanted to explore socio-legal human rights and asked one of my professors which would be the best university for this topic. They said Warwick, and I said ‘where’s that?’!

I researched the university, made contact and explained what I wanted to do, and I couldn’t have been treated any better. I was invited down for a chat and the people I met, who then became my PhD supervisors, were so enthusiastic. More importantly they cared and made me feel like a person. It was the place for me, and I moved down here in 2012. Middle England is now my home, I met my husband and had my two daughters here.

I took on the role of Director of Widening Participation for the Law School around five years ago. It’s quite tricky combining law with primary school outreach, being a complex, sometimes dry subject the language doesn’t always sit well with children. I was looking for ways to keep it fun and engaging, and that’s where ‘Taskmaster’ came in.

People don’t believe me when I say it’s a TV show about law. You have to interpret written rules and the meaning of words and then argue with a judge that your interpretation is correct. Finding loopholes and taking advantage of them, and that’s what law is all about. Obviously, it’s not that simple in the real world but you get my meaning.

I created ‘School Tasking’ and it’s grown so rapidly. Last year more than 3,500 pupils took part across 31 universities. And we held the Champion of Champions final on campus, hosted by Little Alex Horne himself. It’s all about introducing legal thinking through teamwork, problem solving and creativity. It’s a real confidence builder for the kids, but more importantly they’re having fun.

There’s so much information already out there about the project and how we’ve developed it, including some wonderful videos. If you’re interested, please take a look or drop me a line, I’m always happy to talk about it. And if you haven’t seen the TV show, it’s highly recommended, and the new series is on now.

And what's a Munro bagger? Scotland is renowned for its incredible mountains and there are 282 peaks over 3,000 feet, known as Munros. Climbing any of them is not for the faint hearted, even the easiest can involve 8-hours of walking and steep climbs. But you’ll always be rewarded for the effort, the views at the top are breath-taking. I’ve done 157 and whenever I go home, I go out with my Dad or hillwalking gang from university and tick a few more off the list. Climbers who complete them all are called ‘Munroists’, I’ve got a fair few to go to before I can call myself that though!”