On Saturday 25th January, Ms Ellis and I had the privilege of accompanying a group of Year 12 students to the regional heat of the Bar Mock Trial, a competition where teams from different schools fight legal battles against each other, in front of real-life judges. It was a great experience for me, as it was my first time seeing the competition in action, and our students did themselves and our school proud.

The delay in sharing the following reports is entirely my fault - the writers were far more organised than I turned out to be.

Mr Asker, Director of KS5 Learning

On the day of the Regional Heats at Inner London Crown Court, it was my first time going inside a court. It was beautiful, and the atmosphere really added to the excitement of the day.

For the first round, I watched my team's prosecution case. It felt just like the real court cases I watched online, which made the whole experience even more thrilling. During the second round, I was part of the jury for two other schools. It was so much fun listening to their arguments and discussing with the other jurors to ultimately decide whether the defendant was guilty or not. Soon after, I heard the great news that our Defence team from the other case had won their round. At last, the third round, my turn to perform as a witness. Presenting to both the jury and the judge after months of practice and preparation was an unforgettable experience. To my delight, the jury acquitted our defendant and we won the round! We were all so happy that we had won 3 out of 3 cases.

Then we had a Q&A session with the judges; it was incredibly insightful, and their answers deepened my understanding of the legal process. Finally, it was time for the announcement of the National Finalists. Unfortunately, we didn’t win, but I can definitely say I’ve gained so much from this experience, such as a better ability to work with others and a much greater understanding of the legal system. This is a day I will never forget.

Gomitha Kantharupan, Year 12

We had the incredible opportunity of taking part in the Bar Mock Trial inter-school competition, an experience which had months of preparation and hard work put into it. Every team consisted of four barristers, four witnesses, and a court usher/clerk, each of whom had to help prepare their cases and learn their roles in immense detail. We arrived at the courts with nervous anticipation of what was to come, and our morning was a frenzy of us frantically trying to organise ourselves, memorising speeches, and questioning one another, as we started to measure ourselves up against the other schools’ teams trickling in. After hearing from the organisers of the event, as well as being introduced to the real court judges who were going to be assessing our performances, it was time for the first case.

For each of the three cases, we had the option to watch our team perform, or act as jury for another school’s case. Our teams were up against many other talented schools and our months of practice truly paid off as all three of our cases were won with unanimous votes, a testament to our dedication, hard work, and teamwork. This opportunity was fascinating both for aspiring lawyers and for students who have other aspirations, since it gave us all the opportunity to expand our public speaking skills and contribute to a team effort.

We would all recommend taking part in this experience next year as it was interesting to gain valuable insight into the workings of a real Crown Court and the dynamics of presenting a case.

Anoushka Sarashetti, Year 12