Rochdale Sixth Form College budding barristers have their day in court

Rochdale Sixth Form College students with a High Court Judge at Manchester Law Court

Law and Order was the challenge of the day for eleven law students from Rochdale Sixth Form College. They were tasked to put their best case forward in front of a real High Court Judge presiding at Manchester Law Court.

The exercise was part of a national competition run by the Citizenship Foundation where the students were asked to argue cases in court against other colleges and schools from across the country.

The students were given two cases prior to the trial and they had to work together to build a case both for the prosecution and the defence. They were given a range of different roles such as the barrister, witness, clerk and ushers.

A-level student Alfie Durkin said: “It was an amazing experience – a really good insight to the legal profession. I want to practise as a barrister in the future, so I found the experience really valuable. It has certainly given me the impetus to continue studying law, so that one day I can work in a court room at a real trial.”

Lauren Sherriff, teacher of law at Rochdale Sixth Form College, said: “All of our students did fantastically well in the competition. It was great to see them work so well together, especially on the day. It was such an exciting and challenging experience and one I am sure none of them will ever forget.”