Two teams of Year 8 and Year 9 students represented Alperton in the Magistrates’ Court Mock Trial Competition on Saturday 9 March. It was the students’ first experience of the legal system and they found it very enjoyable and engaging. They were well prepared for their competition as the Liaison Magistrate, Tim Harris, had organised a visit to Willesden Magistrates’ Court for them in advance of the competition and they learnt a lot by observing other trials. Additionally, the English and Drama teachers, Ms Sidharh, Ms Jaffrey and Ms Wallace offered their support with the presentation.
The year 8 and 9 students studied a specially written case, and took on the roles of magistrates, defendants, witnesses, lawyers, legal advisers and ushers. The teams defended and prosecuted the case over two rounds, winning three cases, with a split decision returned on the fourth case. They were supported and judged by experienced and practising magistrates, who were the legal advisers on the day. In his role as Defence Lawyer, Darshan (Year 9) was judged to be the best performer in Team One. Ilayda (Year 9), taking on the role of Prosecution Lawyer, was the winner in Team Two.
Tim Harris congratulated both of our teams for their commitment and skill and said: “the hard work you all had put in was so obvious in the way you performed”. He also thanked them “for making this one of the best heats we have ever run at Willesden. It has never been closer in terms of the scoring”.
