A LAW lecturer who takes the stuffiness out of legal jargon by getting students to think about news stories to soap operas has won a prestigious teaching award.

Jenny Jarvie was named joint winner of the Law Teacher of the Year 2016 category in the Northern Law Awards, held at the Crowne Plaza in Newcastle.

Mrs Jarvie, who joined Bishop Auckland College in 2014, has a first class honours degree in death investigation and qualifications in criminal investigation and leadership and entrepreneurship. She teaches business and public services lessons including modules in law, biology, psychology, economics and substance misuse culture.

The mother-of-two, from Darlington, runs weekend lectures to accommodate her students, who have full time jobs.

She said: “I teach law modules to business students who need that underpinning knowledge.

“So I try to take the stuffiness out of it, to put it in layman’s terms and underpin the theory and case law using contemporary cases in the news and even examples from fictional characters on TV soaps.

“It sounds daft but it works.”

Bishop Auckland College principal and chief executive Natalie Davison said: “We are delighted for Jenny, winning such a prestigious industry award against a very strong field. “Her dedication and determination, and the creativity she has shown in her lessons, is admirable and reflects the high standard of teaching across our curriculum.”

The awards aim to showcase and celebrate legal talent across the region and winners had to demonstrate evidence of innovative teaching practices, interest in student development, student satisfaction, student engagement skills and the ability to enhance student learning experience through scholarly activities.

The category she won jointly with Elaine Campbell, of Northumbria University, is open to any law teacher working in a higher education institution in the North of England.