Recently, MCS took part in the Young Professionals Bar Mock Trial Competition, with a team of Y12/Y13 students working in a variety of roles in order to act out a court case and compete virtually with other schools. This competition, run by Young Citizens, is open to 15-18 year olds from non-fee paying schools in Wales, England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Charlotte Painter tells us more “We were given two criminal cases with witness statements and evidence to look at and build both a case for the prosecution and defence and then prepare questions for the witnesses based on their statements. We held auditions for barristers and witnesses whereby we presented key arguments of the case to establish who would best fit each role. We spent the following weeks ensuring that our barristers knew all of their key points and were able to question witnesses and deliver opening and closing speeches. Our witnesses learnt their statements in order to fully embody their characters and those taking on the roles of jury, clerk and usher jumped into roles to help the team practise as well as giving advice and ideas to the team.
We were incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to meet with our Chair of Governors, Mrs Smith, who has a wealth of legal experience and now sits as a part-time judge. We ran through our cases to get a feel for the courtroom and took the opportunity to develop our advocacy skills and pick up some tips before the competition. This was followed by a discussion on pathways into law and an opportunity to ask questions about the legal profession and about Mrs Smith’s experience within the profession. The competition day was tense but the opportunity to see how other schools had interpreted the same statements and see how they developed their arguments was invaluable. We made the most of the legal professionals judging the various rounds by asking questions and learning how to improve our advocacy.
The day was really inspiring and gave us all a sense of what a career in criminal law may look or feel like, even if that is currently altered by the requirement for virtual court sessions. We all loved the experience and it was great to come together as a group of students considering similar future pathways and gain some practical experience. We came fourth which is a great achievement as we were up against many other brilliant schools.”
competition in Cardiff on Sunday.
Jess Maylin 12GD was a successful applicant to the Women in Maths Programme at Cambridge University from 24-26 March 2022. This residential programme encourages young women to study STEM subjects at top universities.
Festival last weekend and is once again training and preparing to compete in the British Championships due to be held over the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend.
