STUDENTS from across Berkshire attended Reading Crown Court for the regional final of the Magistrates Mock Trial Competition.
Eight schools in the county took part in the final, where they were joined by a school from Oxford and another from Hampshire.
Among those representing Berkshire were students from Kendrick School, Kennet School, The Piggott School, St Joseph’s Catholic School, and Trinity School.
Students took up court roles for the day, with benches of six student magistrates examined a case in a mock trial, weighing up the facts and cross-examining witnesses.
The case focused on a fake social media account used to harass other users, with attendees sorting through and evaluating evidence to determine a verdict.
Cases are designed to be arguable either way so that the competition hinges on the strength of the cases put forward by each of the teams, with a real magistrate attending to advise on law and procedure.
The competition helps students to develop their public speaking, teamwork, and analytical skills by playing the part of a lawyer, magistrate, witness, defendant, or victim within the courtrooms.
It also gives them an up-close insight into how criminal proceedings operate and the kinds of issues faced by the judiciaries.
The winners of the regional heats go on to compete in the national final, which takes place in the High Courts of Justice in London.
The winners were Calthorpe Park School, Fleet, Hampshire, and the runners up were Trinity School, Newbury, taking the winner’s trophy and the Berkshire Trophy respectively.
Julia Hardy JP, of the Berkshire Magistrates Association, said: “Former High Sheriffs are the backbone of ensuring that there is enough funding for this important competition to take place each year.
“The students are really stretched by the work they must do ahead of, as well as on the day.
“There’s nothing else quite like it and gives them a real insight into law and the UK Court system–we were also lucky this year to obtain a grant from the Berkshire Freemasons to ensure it could happen, for which we are very thankful.”
During his introduction to the event, the High Sheriff for the Royal County of Berkshire, Alexander Barfield, said: “High standards this year and thanked all the teachers, parents and guardians of the students taking part.
“Although nobody would gain an A-level or GCSE from today, everybody will learn from it in a way that cannot fail to help them in their future lives.”
