Five GCSEs and crippling anxiety: how Josh Ackroyd became a senior Crown prosecutor

My upbringing was just normal to me. I was born in Leeds, raised in a council house and went to a state school. I never really thought I was disadvantaged. I was lucky to have a great upbringing; I had both my parents and they were always supportive.

As a child, I wanted to be a vet. But I ended up leaving school with only five GCSEs – I really wasn’t academic. I cared about my grades, but my parents never pushed me. No one in my family had been to university so I was just encouraged to do my best. How well I excelled at something was always off my own back.

At secondary school, I struggled with crippling anxiety. I didn’t know what it was at the time, but I had weight issues and was bullied – I think it had a lot to do with my sexuality. It was rare that I’d leave the house without hearing a homophobic comment or something about my weight.

At 16, I went to college to study animal management. I quickly realised, although I love animals, I didn’t want to work with them. So, I changed tack and studied business for two years instead. I got to do two modules on business law and fell in love with it. I applied to university thinking it would be fun and interesting.

Everything clicked into place at university. I went to Sheffield Hallam. I was so nervous to move away because I was such a homebody, but it was amazing! I really found myself both personally and academically. You meet so many people with different outlooks and opinions. I don’t think I encountered one homophobic comment throughout my time there, which just speaks volumes.

I came across the Diversity Access Scheme in third year. Like everyone on my course, I was mindlessly sending training contract applications when I found it. My friends dismissed it saying they would never get it – I ended up being the only one who applied and was obviously successful!

Through the scheme, I got lots of work experience. I started in a government department, then went on to the local authority with seats in family, and construction and planning. It was all incredibly valuable. But it was at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) where I was encouraged to apply for my training contract.

I hadn’t thought I’d end up in criminal law. I was told the pay was bad and it was too stressful. But I knew I wanted to work in a contentious or client-focused area. I considered family law for a long time, but I knew as soon as I did my experience at the CPS and got to work on live cases that I would get everything I wanted out of criminal law.

I’ve been in the rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO) department for about 18 months. Our department deals with cases involving serious sexual offences and rapes, so a lot of adult rape victims and child sexual offences. We also see a lot of family law matters because they tend to intersect: for example, domestic abuse cases will involve the family court.

When I first started, I worked on a murder case and that really sticks with me. I saw it through from start to finish and witnessed first-hand the impact the CPS can have on victims and their families. It showed me how rewarding it was going to be to work here. Now I get a lot of satisfaction from obtaining convictions concerning child victims. You get to see how the victim had been affected and how vulnerable they are. Those cases always resonate with me.

I do think the CPS is more accepting of socio-economic diversity. When I applied, you needed a 2:2 and five GCSEs at C grade or above. A lot of private practice firms will require a first-class degree and lots of experience – especially the higher up you go. Those things are harder to achieve for people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, who maybe haven’t been to the best schools.

But the profession has come a long way in terms of diversity. I’ve never seen or heard of any prejudice or hostility at the CPS or from my friends in the profession. I can’t speak about how it was 10 years ago, but we must have come a long way because it’s not even on my radar.

To anyone considering applying for the Diversity Access Scheme, I would say just do it. If I hadn’t applied, I wouldn’t have got a training contract when I did – it accelerates your career light years. Push any imposter syndrome to the side and just go for it, because the things you can get out of it are going to pay dividends to you for the rest of your career.