We all get nervous at the prospect of public speaking – whether it’s a job interview, a big presentation or speaking in front of a class for the first time. If that wasn’t enough, we all display our own tell -tale signs of being nervous – from a dry throat and playing with our hair , to struggling to remember our own name, let alone the carefully prepared argument we’ve been rehearsing for weeks. And that’s what students competing in this years’ Sheffield Hallam Inter-School Mock Trial are going to have to contend with. Now in its 7th year the competition gives 8 teams from schools and colleges the opportunity to flex their debating and advocacy muscles in our very own Moot Court in front of academics and legal professionals for a chance to compete in our mock criminal case final in the summer. Last year a team from Priory Academy in Lincoln won a closely contested final against Queen Elizabeth Grammar School from Ashbourne. I was back at Priory in February and I spoke to two members of the winning team who mentioned that they’d included this in their UCAS personal statements and had since been offered places at Cambridge. Winning Mock Trial might not have been the determining factor, but it’s a great experience to draw on to show your strong communication and team work skills
I’ve run the project for the last couple of years and it’s amazing to see the quality of arguments prepared and presented by Year 12 students, some of whom have never been involved with classroom debate, let alone standing before an expert panel of judges presenting legal arguments in support of assisted suicide or this years’ topic; the ruling of the Supreme Court in relation to leaving the EU that will be debated when the heats start next week. Each team takes part in a preparatory workshop that introduces the competition and the topic, but perhaps more importantly, the skills we all need to master (or at least tame) if we’re going to become great public speakers and critical thinkers capable of winning people over, impressing our colleagues or securing a new job-and who wouldn’t want that?
To find out more about the competition and how to get involved drop me an email at m.lawton-hunt@shu.ac.uk
