Mock Trial Success
I am proud to announce that our year 8 and 9 Mock Trial team have enjoyed success in the 2008 Mock Trial Competition organised by the Citizenship Foundation and are through to the National Finals to be held in Leeds on June 21st 2008.
The competition is run as an extra curricular activity by the Citizenship department at Bradfield and is designed to raise awareness of the justice system and to develop public speaking and reasoning skills in pupils. It is a national competition coordinated by local magistrates and held in the magistrates court. The teams are given a case to study in advance of the competition and are required to act out the roles of key people in a normal courtroom over two rounds. One round requires them to defend the case and the other to prosecute. Each member of the team has a role ranging from magistrate, usher, witness, legal adviser or lawyer. Although elements of the case can be prepared and scripted, when they are competing against other schools in the magistrates court students need to know the case inside out and think on their feet in whatever role they have taken on. Team members are scored according to their individual performances rather than the overall verdict.
The team have worked really hard to prepare for all events first starting their rehearsals in November 2007. Giving their invaluable support at every stage have been three, second year law students from Sheffield University. Links with the University were originally organised as an aim higher initiative, the aims being to raise pupil’s aspirations, knowledge and awareness of higher education opportunities. As a bonus this year the students were allowed to use the university law department ‘mooting room’ to hold their final rehearsals at the regional stage. The competition has also enabled us to build links with a local Magistrate Mr John Davies, who has kindly given up his time to help guide and advise the students by sharing his experience and expertise.
In the local heats held at Sheffield Magistrates courts in March, students competed against Sheffield and Rotherham schools and as overall winners then qualified to compete at the regional finals in Doncaster in May. At this second stage, there were schools from all over the Yorkshire and Humberside region competing against each other. At this stage the teams were required to prepare two cases, prosecuting one and defending another and again I am proud to say that Bradfield School came out as overall winners. Achieving this success was an extremely proud and exciting achievement for the team.
It’s off to the National Final of the competition to be held in Leeds Magistrates Court on June 21st now, with 18 schools from all over England and Northern Ireland attending and competing. Again two cases are up in court with our teams making final adjustments to their performances at the present time.
I am extremely proud of all the team have achieved so far and know that whatever the result at the national finals, the team have represented themselves and their school fantastically well. They should be extremely pleased and proud of their achievements. Good luck to all involved at the final stage of the competition.
Mrs C Pipes
Subject Leader for Citizenship, Bradfield School