Saturday 9 November 2024
Our Sixth Form students have been preparing for the Young Citizen’s Bar Mock Trial since the beginning of this academic year.
Students have been meeting every Monday after school to prepare their cases, practice their questioning skills and prepare to undergo questioning as witnesses. Students also attended after school sessions to develop their skills and seek advice from members of the legal profession. We were very privileged to be supported by Judge, Leona Harrison. Judge Harrison gave student valuable advice on how to present their arguments and question witnesses. Judge Harrison observed our students' role play the criminal cases and gave students advice on how they could improve their opening/closing statements. Students taking on the role of Barristers were committed to improving their advocacy skills and reflected on the advice given by Judge Harrison. All students taking part worked very hard to prepare for their roles, they worked collaboratively and supported each other throughout.
On Saturday 9 November, our students took part in the Bar Mock Trial at Manchester Crown Court. This is the first time in the last ten years that the court has opened its doors to the Bar Mock Trial competition. This was an amazing opportunity for the students. They got to walk the corridors of the court and perform their cases in several different court rooms. Our students competed in the North West heat, they were up against other Sixth Form colleges from around the North West.
Prosecution Barristers Cyrus and Pebbles were first to perform. They did great job presenting their cases, questioning witnesses and cross examining the defence witnesses. The Judge commented on the confidence of both barristers and Pebbles was highlighted for the strength of her closing statement.
In the second round, Defence Barristers Fikayo and Hamaad did an amazing job in defending their case. Their opening and closing speeches outlining the law and burden of proof to the jury was a key strength. They won their case and outperformed the other school competing in their questioning of witnesses.
Defence Barristers Ali and Safa did a superb job in defending their case in the third round of the competition. Both students thoroughly questioned and cross-examined witnesses to highlight the evidence for their case. Their opening and closing statements were a key strength that blew away the competition. Their confidence in delivering their statements was a joy to witness.
Hamza (round 2) and Abdullah (round 3) played the roles of the defendant. Both students did stand out performances, they knew their statements and were able to confidently respond to tough questioning. Their performances played a vital role in the barristers winning their cases. Hamza diligently learned his witness statement and prepared for questioning. He was nervous before the trial started but this did not come across when he took the stand. He answered every question confidently and clearly. He didn’t falter under cross examination and did a fantastic job. Abdullah was calm and collected on the witness stand. He did an excellent performance as the witness for the defence team in round 3. He made it very difficult for the competing team to cross examine him. He made sure he didn’t give the prosecution anything.
Nael, Mustafa, Fatimah and Habeeb played the role of key witnesses for our teams. They all knew their statements; they worked well with their teams to make sure they presented the points the prosecution/defence team wanted them to highlight. They performed very well responding to questioning from other school teams. It was impressive to see the students cope with the questions, particularly under cross examination as they didn’t know what they would be asked. They had to listen carefully, respond to the questions and remember their original statement. They didn’t falter under the pressure.
Often the unsung heroes of the court are the Court Clerk and the Usher, anyone who works within the court knows how important their roles are. Kolsoom played the role of the Court Clerk in round one. Nimra and Aisha played the role of the Usher in round 2 and 3. All three did stand out performances. They spoke clearly and confidently and took charge of the courtroom by giving instructions to those in the court room, swearing in witnesses and the jury and reading statements.
All students took part being jurors for other schools competing in the competition. They listened diligently to all the evidence presented and came to a verdict of guilty/ not guilty for each case. All students also had a Q&A session with all the Judges and Barristers supporting the day.
Every student thoroughly enjoyed the day and thrived during the competition. Miss Ingham is very proud of how all the students performed and presented themselves during the day in Manchester’s Crown Court. They were great representatives of the WHGS community and Sixth Form.
Well done to all of you!