On Friday, 11 August, students representing RPCS hosted Fairvale High School for the 1st Elimination Round of the NSW Law Society Mock Trial competition. The students were: Year 11- James, Wilfred, William, Andrew and Year 10 – Montanna and Anna. Anna and Montanna were excellent in their roles as prosecution witnesses. The girls had learned their scripts well and once again superbly dealt with cross-examination by the defence barristers. They also coped well with regular objections being made against them on the grounds of indirect speech by showing composure to reword their script on the spot. James and William were effective as barristers in questioning Anna and Montanna, and in cross examining the prosecution witnesses. It has been a highlight of the competition to see James continue to develop in his confidence and composure when cross-examining witnesses. William was methodical in his approach to questioning the defence witness and was well able to summarise evidence that helped our case in his closing remarks. The barristers were capably supported by Andrew who acted in the capacity of solicitor. He received outstanding results for his level of preparation and pertinent observations during the trial. Wilfred was once again seamless in his job of assisting the magistrate with the administrative aspects of the case. I would again like to thank the students for their enthusiasm in preparing so well for the trial. Unfortunately, our team was unable to prove beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of the defendant and thus they were acquitted. Fairvale were fairly judged by the Magistrate to be the best team on the day and our team showed great humility in defeat by the way they congratulated their opponent. This result brings an end to our involvement in the 2017 competition. As the competition is restricted to Year 10 and 11 students it is also the last time Year 11 students of 2017 will be able to be involved. As a result, I would like to pay a special tribute to the various Year 11 students who have played a part in our Mock Trial team over the journey of 2016-7. Many thanks to James, Wilfred, William, Andrew, Victoria, Wendy, Sereana and Kimberley. It has been a pleasure to see you show courage, grow in confidence and develop outstanding public speaking skills.
Mr B Forster & Mr M Hammonds
