Rolls Building Visit - 26th February

On Monday 2nd February, 24 students from Years 12 and 13 attended a guided visit to the Rolls Building in Fetter, part of the Royal Courts of Justice, to participate in a mock trial of a negligence case. The day was hosted by a representative of the National Justice Museum who introduced students to the court system in the UK and then facilitated their work in teams to prepare for the enactment of the case.

Students acting as claimants and respondents had all prepared detailed statements and submissions before arrival and were then supported by trainee barristers to prepare their case to be heard by and ruled on by the students acting as judges. After enacting the case, students had an opportunity to hear Mr Justice Meade speakout his lengthy career as a High Court judge before being able to ask him questions.

All the participating students thoroughly enjoyed the experience and left with a much more developed understanding of how a case is tried at the High Court. The Kings Counsel who prepared the case material and attended to observe a portion of the case, commented on how impressive our students were both in terms of the preparation they had clearly carried out beforehand and the way they presented their points. He said that some of our students performed better than some of his first-year legal advocacy students – a real accolade!  All the students engaged fantastically on the day and were a credit to themselves and the Sixth Form.