Courts, contest for students

PUPILS from the two grammar schools in Dover are taking part in a competition which will give them hands-on experience of the legal system.

The regional round of the Bar National Mock Trial competition takes place on Saturday. The contests will take place at Crown Courts throughout the UK, involving more than 2,000 students from 160 schools and 30 reserve schools.

The competition organised by the Bar Council and the Citizenship Foundation, provides students, aged 15 to 18, with a unique opportunity to gain experience of the legal system through role playing exercises.

The teams compete in mock trials judged by circuit judges, recorders and barristers, with a place in the national final at the Old Bailey on Saturday, March 27, 2004, up for grabs.

Students from the boys' and girls' grammar schools in Dover will be competing against other schools from Kent in the regional contest at
Canterbury Combined Courts.