YEAR 6 MOCK TRIAL COMPETITION 2024
We are pleased to announce the date and venue for the
Greater Manchester Magistrates Association Annual Magistrates’ Mock Trial competition for Year 6 students.
This will take place on
• Friday 28th June 2024 at • Hemsley House, 41-42, Crescent, Salford M5 4PE
This year’s trial script topic will be possession of a bladed article.
In addition to the mock trial, there will be a Knives: Choices and Consequences interactive workshop for all the students.
We will also have an activities room with stands from British Transport Police, Early Start, Travel Safe, GM Police and GM Fire and Rescue Service.
About the competition:
The competition involves the children acting out a trial in which they play all the major roles: Magistrates, solicitors, defendants, witnesses, and court officials. They will be supported by volunteer Magistrates from the Greater Manchester Magistrates Association.
Each team would comprise 7-10 students supported by their teacher. A magistrate from Greater Manchester will be assigned to act as the Liaison Magistrate for the school, to help with any questions and visit the school to talk with the Year 6 students in advance on request.
The competition provides a chance for the pupils to work as a team, demonstrate their verbal reasoning abilities, and gain valuable experience and confidence in speaking in public.
There will be a certificate of attendance for all participants and prizes and trophies for the winning teams. There will also be a prize for Outstanding Individual Performance in each team, and the winning Court Artist, and Court Reporter entries.
The High Sheriff of Greater Manchester has been invited to attend to personally meet the children and present the awards. Court Artist and Court Reporter will be presented one week after the event.
We have been fortunate in obtaining sponsorship to offer schools a contribution to the cost of travel on the day if needed. Please see details in the FAQ section below for further information on how to apply for this.
We look forward to welcoming your school to the competition.
If you would like to apply to take part, or require any further information, please contact the event organiser, Rachel Medcalf JP by email at enquiries@gmma-mic.net
To see pictures and details of previous years competitions take a look at the web pages:
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Frequently Asked Questions:
Do we need to write our own script?
No. We will provide a scripted court scenario which will be sent out in advance. For this competition, children should please stick to the script and not introduce their own questions in cross examination.
How many pupils will be able to take part?
There is a new trial for 2024 and there are speaking parts for 7 pupils this year. There are also 2 non-speaking roles, including Court Artist and Court Reporter.
Can we enter more than one team?
Yes. It is possible to enter up to a maximum of two teams if there is capacity. There will be a minimum of two ‘court rooms’ running in parallel throughout the morning. It’s important the competition is open to as many different schools across Greater Manchester as possible, so if fully subscribed, we may need to look at both geographical spread and/or limit participation to one team per school.
How long will the competition take?
A running order timetable will be issued 4 weeks before the date of the competition. Arrival will be no earlier than 08:45am and the event will conclude with prizes and awards, no later than 13.45pm (exact timings will be confirmed once we know how many schools would like to submit a team). The trial itself takes about 45 mins.
What will the children be doing when they are not competing?
There will be activities from other agencies to keep children engaged while not competing. These include stands from British Transport Police, Early Start, Travel Safe, GM Police and GM Fire and Rescue Service. New for this year there will be a Knives: Choices and Consequences Interactive workshop run by GM Magistrates timetabled for when the children have finished their trial.
What should we bring?
Students will need a pen/pencil and note paper for the sentencing exercise. Teachers are welcome to bring other activities e.g. quizzes, word searches for children to complete while waiting. Court Reporters will need paper and pen/pencil and Court Artist should bring pencils and colouring crayons if they wish.
What should we wear?
This is entirely up to the school. Previously, schools have either worn their school uniform or dressed according to the role they are playing in the court scenario.
Do we need to bring pack lunch?
Students and staff should bring their own packed lunch. Refreshments will be available – jugs of water/cordial and biscuits. If any participant has an allergy please let us know in advance.
Are spectators allowed?
We are restricted by the Fire and Safety rules of the building. Consequently, we need to limit spectators / parents to a maximum of 2 per school. This is in addition to the teaching staff.
What are the arrangements for travel and parking?
There is a free car park at the back of Hemsley House. The nearest train station is Salford Crescent, about a 10-minute walk away.
Can you facilitate pupils with special needs?
We welcome all pupils of all abilities. Please notify us of any special needs beforehand and we shall be pleased to make adjustments to accommodate if required.
How do we apply for a contribution towards transport costs?
Write to the event organiser, Rachel Medcalf JP using the email enquiries@gmma-mic.net
A full information pack with the script for the trial and guidance for teachers will be sent out to each participating school.
Please see the feedback comments and testimonials we kindly received following previous competitions which are shown at the bottom of this page.....
Previous winners:
2023:
First Prize : Well Green Primary School, Hale
Second Prize: Button Lane Primary School, Wythenshawe
Court Reporter winner from St Thomas' CE Primary School, Stockport
Court Artist winner from Denton West End Primary School, Tameside
2022:
First Prize : Bowdon Church School
Second Prize: Moss Park Junior School
Court Reporter winner from Moss Park Junior School
Court Artist winner from St Paul's Peel C of E Primary School
2021:
First Prize: Joint Winners: Moss Park Junior (B) & St Vincents RC Primary
Second Prize: Wellgreen Primary
Highly Commended: Whittaker Moss Primary (A) & Moss Park (A)
2020:
No competition due to Covid
2019:
First Prize: Bowlee Park Community School, Middleton
Second Prize: Seymour Grove Primary School, Clayton
Third Prize: Moss Park Junior School (Team 1)
2018:
First prize: Moss Park Junior School, Stretford.
Second prize: Bamford Academy, Rochdale.
Third prize : Worthington Primary School, Sale.
2017:
First prize: Park Road Junior School, Sale.
Second prize: Woodlands Community Primary School, Heywood.
Second prize: Woodlands Community Primary School, Heywood.
The winning drawing from the 2023 competition, drawn by Eve Lambert, Denton West End Primary School, Tameside
The winning drawing from the 2022 competition, drawn by Grace Buffey, St Paul's Peel C of E Primary School.
Testimonials from previous competitions:
"Thanks for the opportunity for our children today. They loved it! They came back absolutely buzzing. They had a fantastic day. It’s opportunities like this that might just make that difference in the life chances of our children“ Primary school Head Teacher
"Thank you for organising this event and allowing our children the opportunity to take part. It is really worthwhile, and our children benefit greatly. They enjoyed the additional activities provided by the police and other organisations but primarily the trial itself. The whole class enjoyed looking at the case and learning about the court system."
"The day provided such a unique opportunity for the children - it helped to widen their aspirations, challenged them to exceed expectations and gave them an unforgettable experience. "
"The topic of the mock trial was really engaging and interesting for the year 6 children. Linking it to cyberbully and 'banter' made it current but also got the message across that this is crime that can be taken seriously, even if just meant as a joke. Especially when the defendants were found guilty. "
"The opportunity to win team awards and individual awards was a lovely touch with the children can treasure. The special visitor of the High Sheriff made it extra fancy."
“With the content of, structure, application, drama, fun, pleasant competitiveness and all round sense of achievement, combining with a whole new experience, was just brilliant for the children (and some curious parents
😊)”
“The biggest gesture of a compliment is, where can you find an opportunity like this?, to bring an array of children together, with all scopes of talents, challenges, backgrounds and team work.
They were all winners, no tears, no tantrums and no disappointments, I must say very rarely found when you do children activities.”
“Thanks for a fantastic opportunity. The children were quiet on the way but sang all the way back - joyous!”
“Thanks so much for a great experience for the children, and us all. The children had a wonderful time and found it very exciting.”
“Just to say thank you for a fantastic afternoon at the Mock Trial today. The children thoroughly enjoyed the experience and spent the coach ride back telling us that they will remember the day forever! "
“The biggest gesture of a compliment is, where can you find an opportunity like this?, to bring an array of children together, with all scopes of talents, challenges, backgrounds and team work.
They were all winners, no tears, no tantrums and no disappointments, I must say very rarely found when you do children activities.”
“Thanks for a fantastic opportunity. The children were quiet on the way but sang all the way back - joyous!”
“Thanks so much for a great experience for the children, and us all. The children had a wonderful time and found it very exciting.”
“Just to say thank you for a fantastic afternoon at the Mock Trial today. The children thoroughly enjoyed the experience and spent the coach ride back telling us that they will remember the day forever! "
History of the competition
In 2017, Greater Manchester Magistrates’ Association was awarded a Patron’s Grant to run a pilot Mock Trials competition for Year 6 pupils. (Our Patron was HM Queen Elizabeth II.)
This was the first time that such a competition had taken place in the north west of England.
The first event took place on the 30th June 2017, at the Friend’s Meeting House in central Manchester. Ten schools from across Greater Manchester took part, and the day was such a resounding success that it was decided to make this an annual competition. We have now held this event six times, only missing out in 2020, and even doing it by Zoom in 2021, due to covid.
The competition provides an opportunity for the pupils to work as a team and to demonstrate their abilities in verbal reasoning, as well as gaining valuable experience of speaking in public.
In 2018, we were able to obtain funding from our generous sponsors to help contribute towards the travelling expenses for schools who would not otherwise have been able to attend, and we are delighted that this is something that we can now offer for future events.