Students Battle It Out In Mock Court

24 November 2009

A team of 13 potential barristers, court clerks and court reporters from Salford City College participated in the National Bar Mock Trial Competition at Manchester Crown Court on Saturday 21st November.

The event, which is run by the Citizenship Foundation, involves teams from schools and colleges using carefully constructed witness statements to prepare the prosecution and defence of two specially written criminal cases. Students take on the roles of lawyers, witnesses, court staff and jurors and compete against other schools in a live format, with one team prosecuting and the other defending.

The regional heat in Manchester was judged by the Recorder of Manchester, His Honour Judge Gilbart QC, His Honour Judge Lever QC and Mr Recorder Wild. The team from Salford City College, which consisted of students studying various subjects across the college, from A-Level Law to the International Baccalaureate, came a very creditable third, beating 15 other colleges and competition from Greater Manchester. They narrowly missed second place, and a place in the regional final, by only two percentage points.

Professional barristers involved in the event, along with the judges who presided in the cases, had a lot of praise for the work of the Salford City College team. In particular, the Recorder of Manchester said that the closing speech from one of the students was "how it should be done" and "could not be improved upon".

Kevin Callaghan, Law tutor at the Eccles Centre who led the team, said "The sterling performance of our students as advocates, witnesses, court officials and jurors is a reflection of the high level of commitment they have displayed in preparing for and participating in the mock trials and they are to be congratulated on their achievement."