Westhoughton Students Win Local Heat

A fabulous group of Westhoughton High School students triumphed in Bolton Magistrates Court on Saturday 11th March.

The 13 students, from years 8 and 9, have been working since November, preparing their cases for the competition and their hard work paid off when they won the local heat.

The competition involved the students taking on roles such as lawyers, witnesses, magistrates and court staff. The students then split into two teams; one defending the case, one prosecuting, with the magistrates taking part in both rounds, each of which battled against another local school. The formidable defending team faced Mount St. Josephs, Horwich and our fearsome prosecution team fought it out against Canon Slade of Bolton.
The case fought in both rounds surrounded a defendant who was charged with knowingly travelling in a stolen vehicle. The students were marked on their understanding of the law relating to the case, their application of court protocol and their ability to take on their roles. Each of the students performed splendidly and all were ecstatic when Westhoughton High School was announced as the winning team.

The students have been meeting once a week after school with Mrs Edwards, Mr Kelly and a local JP. They also spent time on off-timetable days when a criminal solicitor also came to work with the students. Alongside this the pupils have all put in lots of extra time at home preparing for the competition. The students will now have to prepare for a new case in the Regional Heat, which takes place at the Magistrates Court in Wirral on May 20th. Although final details are yet to be received, we have been informed that the new case surrounds football racism.

I was lucky enough to watch the students take part in the competition and felt proud and amazed of each one. I am looking forward to the next round with much anticipation.

A list of the students and the roles they undertook is below.

Magistrates: Jessica Brennan, Adam Hendleman, John Tyrer
Defence Lawyers: Jonathan Martindale, Adam Francis
Defence Witnesses: Emily McIntyre, Holly Horrocks
Court Usher: Matthew Clementson
Prosecution Lawyers: Samantha Arrona, Leanne Green
Prosecution Witnesses: James Caldwell, Jenny Leeming
Legal Advisor: Lisa Oliver
Court Reporter: Parnel Townley

Watch this space for Parnel's report which is coming soon!