Una Discamus

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LLW Citizenship

Mock Trials

On Saturday 17th November, following two months of preparation, the Wellington College Mock Trial team, consisting of David Payne, James Cox, Mark Leeman, Sarah Wilson, Amy Burnside, Ashley Douglas and I attended the Royal Courts of Justice to participate in the Mock Trials. The trials are written by professional barristers and each team was put into one of four groups. The teams in each group then pit their wits against each other in the different case studies. David and I were the barristers, while James, Mark, Sarah and Amy were witnesses and Ashley was a court clerk. Caroline Dougal, Katrina Bingham, Megan Osbourne, Helen Moutray, Lynne Johnston also participated as jurors for other trials.

In September, we were given the case studies filled with the witness statements on the cases that we were participating in. These formed the basis of two months of preparatory analysis, from which we constructed the arguments that we would use on the day. As time progressed, we became more and more confident due to practice, and we gradually spotted more and more points that we could use on the day of the trials. Two barristers were also assigned to us, and they helped and developed our arguments a great deal.

Thus on the day of the Trials, we were well prepared and reasonably confident. The two trials that we had been given were very interesting and rather humorous. One was the case of Jordan Potter who had performed badly in his Art A Level examination due to an injured hand, and so allegedly set fire to the papers. Potter’s defence was that she had cheered up about her performance as her Art teacher had agreed to write a letter to the Examining Board, and so had no reason to set fire to the papers. The second trial was about a student called Sam Morton who had allegedly assisted another student, Drew Bird in stealing a school computer worth £1,200. Morton’s defence was that Bird had told him that the computer was his, and that he thought he was helping Bird carry it home.

The day went very well, with the Wellington team securing acquittals in the two trials in which we were defending. We were also the only school in the competition that day to secure a conviction in the Potter case when were prosecuting. This shocked the court so much that there were gasps from the public gallery.

Everyone performed extremely well, with David getting the better of some very tough witnesses, and our witnesses remaining firm and calm under some very intense scrutiny during cross-examination. While we did not win the competition, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, and one in which we performed very well. It is an experience that I would recommend to anyone, as not only is it enjoyable, but it improves many useful skills such as those of analysis and debating. Thanks must go to Mrs Doyle for organising the team and the practice sessions every Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, as well as to the jurors who helped out on the day of the Trials.

- Colin Sloan (Year 14 Pupil)