The Bar National Mock Trial Competition 2012.

The Bar National Mock Trial Competition 2012. NO PRIOR LEGAL KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED TO TAKE PART.

About the competition • The Bar National Mock Trial Competition gives young people an exciting and innovative insight into the workings of the legal system. • It involves over 2,000 students, 300 barristers and advocates and 90 judges from across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. • The Academy will enter a team of 15 students.

How it works • Teams of students use carefully constructed witness statements to prepare the prosecution and defence of two specially written criminal cases. • Students take on the roles of barristers, witnesses, court staff and jurors and compete against other schools in a live format, with one team prosecuting and the other defending.

How it works At regional heats teams take part in three trials both prosecuting and defending one case and prosecuting or defending the other. The two teams with the highest scores go on to a fourth trial to decide the regional winning team. The regional winning team then goes on to compete in the national final.

Auditions For those students who want the roles of barristers and witnesses, you will be required to audition for the part. These will be judged by me and a member of staff from Drama.

Why auditions? Barristers will need to take the lead in the competition in front of a judge in the Crown Court. Your aim will be to win the case. You will need to be able to think on your feet and critically evaluate on the spot, being fearless in your prosecution and defence. Witnesses will be subject to cross-examination in which the barristers will persecute you i.e. make you out to be a liar, trip you up on what you are saying and basically completely discredit any evidence you give. You will need nerves of steel!! There are also roles as jurors and a court clerk. You will not be required to audition for these. Roles will be allocated in July with a one hour weekly commitment until the end of term.

Timescales The enrichment will primarily run from September 2012 to November 2012 and hopefully you will be working alongside a barrister who will coach you in advocacy. If you are successful and win the regional heat, this will then be extended to March 2013 where 16 regional schools will compete in the national final that takes place at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

Legal Reporting Competitions Press Officer competition Each team can nominate a Press Officer to be responsible for developing a media strategy for local coverage of the team's entry. Details of how to enter the Press Officer competition is sent to participating schools in September. Court Reporter competition After watching one of the trials at a regional heat, the Court Reporter will write a newspaper article reporting on the case they have watched.

Why bother? • You will gain an understanding of the legal and human rights and responsibilities underpinning society, and how they relate to you as citizens, including the role of the criminal and civil justice systems; • You will understand the work of courts in making and shaping the law; • This is an opportunity to develop research skills on topical moral and social issues; • You will get the opportunity to consider other people's experiences and be able to explain and express, explain and critically evaluate opinions that are not necessarily your own; • You can negotiate, make decisions and take part responsibly in Academy enrichments.

Why bother as a Macmillan student UCAS references and university/job applications or those working towards an apprenticeship. Build on a topic that you may be interested in for your EPQ. Prove that you can successfully collaborate and work as a team to reach desired outcomes with the discipline required. Employers like this one!