A group of Swindon students have been back in court for the finals of the Young Citizens national mock trials contest for schools.
The team of aspiring lawyers from Abbey Park School travelled to Croydon in South London to present their cases in a real-life magistrates' court.
Their day in court started the day with a Q&A session. A magistrate spoke to the students, enabling them to understand the job opportunities within the legal system, and the different pathways into the legal profession.
They then argued their cases against 11 other schools from the UK.
Kayla Verlander-Simmonds, English and Media teacher at Abbey Park School, said: “We are immensely proud of how our students performed in the competition and represented our school.
"The students themselves gained a lot from this experience, and some are now going to be pursuing careers in the legal profession. We want to thank Young Citizens and all the Swindon court staff and magistrates who helped our team make it to the finals.”
In the first round of the national finals of the competition, The Abbey Park School team was up against Gunnersbury Catholic School, Brentford, and were opening the prosecution case first.
It was a very difficult case, and the defendant was found not guilty. However, it wasn’t a straightforward win, as a magistrate on each team found the defendant guilty.
In the second round of the competition, the team was against Waddesdon Church of England School in Buckinghamshire, this time successfully defending a client.
It came down to the judging Magistrate to make the final decision due to a split verdict, and the Waddeston magistrates voted guilty, but the Abbey Park School magistrates voted not guilty. The presiding magistrate then had the deciding vote, and a not guilty verdict was secured.
The team of Year 9 students - Mia, Harry, Joshua, Thomas, Emmy, Holly, Toby, Tyler, Nicola, Emily, Oakley, Lena and William - were led by English and Media teacher, Kayla Verlander-Simmonds.
The Abbey Park School team came sixth overall, a brilliant result against talented teams from across the UK.
Mock trials are an active learning experience run by Young Citizens since 1991. They give secondary students the opportunity to work together on specially written cases, giving them the opportunity to experience the law and judicial system with invaluable exposure to courtrooms and legal professionals.
Mock Trials are not just for students who are interested in the Law. The main focus is to encourage students to build their confidence, understanding and collaboration.
Local heats are run all over the country, and students get to have their ‘day in court’ defending and prosecuting the case against their peers. In March, Abbey Park spent the day at Swindon Magistrates Court, supported by a local magistrate.
In March, the Abbey Park team walked away with a number of awards and qualified for the national finals:
- Overall Competition Winners
- Overall Best Defence Team - Lilly, Harry, Holly, Nicola, Lena
- Best Prosecution Lawyer - Shared for the first year ever (as the judges could not pick a winner) - Mia and Emmy
- Best Defence Lawyer – Lily
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