Cllr James Hockney LLB (Hons)

Delighted to be able to say that I graduated from Anglia Ruskin University with a Bachelor of
Laws (Honours).

It has been an incredible three year journey! I have Learnt so much on the way and made many great friends.

So glad that a good friend gave me the nudge to take the step and study Law.

Very proud indeed to be the first person in my family to go to University.

Certainly the new skills and knowledge that I have learnt have been very useful in the political sphere and representing my community as District Councillor.

I have already taken the next step in the legal arena by having commenced my Postgraduate Law studies.

A big thank you to everyone for your support over the years!

It’s done!!! Today I have completed my Law Degree.

The last three years have flown by at Anglia Ruskin University have flown by. Much of my studies took place in the Lord Ashcroft Building (pictured right). Last month I had the pleasure of meeting Lord Ashcroft at an ARU talk.

Embarking on the Degree on has been one of the biggest challenges of my life – but on the journey I have made so many great new friends which has greatly added to the experience.

My family have been a great support – as the first in my family to go to University.

I will now enjoy some freedom away from being buried under law books whilst staring at a computer screen (which has been a feature of the last few months especially!) One of the proudest moments was completing my 10,000 word dissertation on human rights.

Whatever path I now follow; the skills, knowledge and experience that I have garnered will put to good use!

So pleased to say that I have successfully completed the second year of my Law Degree at ARU Cambridge. May has certainly proved to be a very busy month of assignments which included; moot (mock court case), three written assignments (6,800 words) and an exam. This was in addition to working hard on the campaign trail.

Many has criticised the new funding system for University students. I can say with confidence that if it were not for the new system which ended Labour’s up front fees I would not have undertaken the degree. Being the first person ever in my family to be undertaking a degree makes me immensely proud.

Thank you for all the kind comments about passing the first year of my Law Degree. It really has been overwhelming receiving all the facebook comments, e-mails and telephone calls.

Pictured are some of the Law books from the first year – a fair amount of reading! Certainly I really do feel I have learnt a lot and also made many new friends over the year. The degree is already proving to be very helpful and complementary to my role of District Councillor.

I very much look forward to the second and third years of the Law Degree course!