EBS students recently took part in a Mock Trial competition organised by Young Citizens, which is a citizenship education charity, that informs, equips and inspires young people across the UK to be active citizens. The programme aims to help young people understand how the law touches every aspect of their lives, and hopefully:
- improve life skills such as critical thinking and public speaking;
- gain an insight into how the legal justice system works;
- be able to interact with legal professionals;
- develop employability skills and boost social mobility.
Miss Pasterny advertised the event to students in Years 8 and 9 and had a lot of interest to take part. Students were given a specific legal case and had to develop and prepare legal arguments during lunchtime sessions. As a team we were lucky to get the support of two fantastic lawyers – Judge David Radford and his wife, King’s Counsel Nadine Radford who came to support us during our sessions in school and later came to support us in court, on the day of the trial.
Saturday 16th February was the team’s big day. Although there were a few nerves, they were all enthusiastic and looked around the Magistrates Court in awe! Despite the little prep time they had, the EBS team were ready to prosecute and defend the case in this mock trial. All the case questions – chief examinations and cross-examinations, opening and closing speeches, and the statement of the law, were all written by our students. The students were so professional and they thought about everything. They also arrived to court on time, with all their notes ready and looking very smart. Miss Pasterny was extremely proud of them all.
Unfortunately, we did not win, but our students were excellent. It was also fantastic that Judge David Radford, Nadine Radford and some students’ family members joined us at the court to support the team during the mock trial. We received some fabulous reports from the competition judges.
Congratulations to all students who took part in the mock trial.
