The Mock Trial was a fantastic opportunity for our four Year 10 youngsters to really engage with the legal system as a real-life experience where the Defence and Prosecution teams battled it out in the typical surroundings of a Court of Law.
Klaudia Witkowska, Ellen Barnes, Dale Culver and Lucy Smith were instantly impressed with the welcome that they received from students and staff members from Runshaw College on Wednesday 21st February. They were keen to get involved and, having been given the case to work on, plus a very large handbook, they embarked on a planning programme which allowed them to work for the defence. They quickly decided upon everyone’s roles and set to the task of structuring and writing their arguments for delivery in front of an enthralled and mesmerised audience.
Bishop Rawstorne battled it out with Worden’s team and Ellen Barnes impressed the judges with her defence presentation which was played out impressively. The Prosecution team posed some tricky questions, but Worden’s barristers instinctively fought back using subtle arguments and offering credible mitigating circumstances.
Following the trial, the students were offered an escorted tour of the College and then they returned to the courtroom for the awards ceremony. Dale Culver was praised over and over again for his exceptional performance as defence lawyer. In fact, there was excellent news to come, at the end of the day, when Dale was awarded ‘Best Defence’ by members of the judging panel.
When the team returned to school, they were delighted with how the day had gone. Having to initiate a response, whilst it being spontaneous, was a hard task to carry out, but the team thrived and performed to an exceptional level. Well done!