YOUNGSTERS demonstrated their legal prowess to win the first round of a competition at the weekend.

Pupils from Upton Court Grammar School, in Lascelles Road, Slough, beat their rivals to win a regional heat of the Mock Trial competition at Reading Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, March 11.

The Upton Court pupils beat seven other schools having prepared their case and learned about the rule of law, the role of the magistrates’ court and the legal implications for the case.

The imaginary offence involved a young person accused of entering a friend’s home and stealing a PlayStation games console.

The students were divided into two teams to represent the defence and prosecution and each had the chance to present their case.

The Slough youngsters won over the judges with their good knowledge of the legal system and the intricacies of such a case.

They had to demonstrate a good understanding of what constitutes burglary and of court proceedings as they adopted different roles to support their argument.

Upton Court Grammar School headteacher, Mrs Hernandez Estrada, said: “I always enjoy seeing our students perform. They spoke eloquently, demonstrated excellent questioning techniques and understanding of the law. The judges concluded that our team was ahead of the rest and declared them well deserving winners.”

Having defeated 27 other schools overall in the regional heat, the students aged 12 to 14 will now progress onto the regional finals on Saturday, May 13 with their eyes on the national finals that will be held in Nottingham in June.