THERE have been celebrations at Crediton's Queen Elizabeth's Academy after the QE Bar Mock Trial Team won the National Final held at the Old Bailey in London.

Over the past 10 years, QE Bar Mock Trial teams have been incredibly successful but never won the coveted prize.

QE have twice been to the National final in Edinburgh, once to Liverpool and once before at the Old Bailey.

This time the team went one better and took away the winning trophy.

A total of 171 schools had entered the nationwide competition this year, with 16 regionals heats. All 16 finalists from each heat competed at the Old Bailey in front of the most senior judges from Scotland, Northern Ireland and England.

The students had to undertake the roles of barristers, witnesses, court staff and jurors in two criminal cases.

The barristers had to learn how to conduct examination-in-chief and cross examination which entailed preparing appropriate questions and being able to quickly adapt them to take account of answers from witnesses.

Students were expected to write opening and closing speeches and deliver these effectively, which is a lot harder than it sounds as the barristers are expected to change their speeches during each trial to include unexpected evidence and arguments from the other side.

Witnesses had to portray a credible character and maintain their version of events under probing cross-examination from the other side.

The final round between QE and Dalriada, from Northern Ireland, took place in the famous Court Number One, where the likes of Crippen and Huntley were tried.

It was very closely fought and tense, but the QE team were said to be "superb despite the immense pressure".

The judges and Citizenship Foundation staff were so impressed by the standard, they offered the lucky barristers a mini-pupillage this summer, as well as giving the winning team a £500 Hodder voucher for the College.

Maggie Bamber and Margaret Moran-Mylett, English teachers and QE Mock Trial team leaders, said: "It has been a pleasure to work with this team of students.

"They have never complained about the hours of practice nor the many drafts and re-drafts as we tried to hone each case.

"They have listened and learned from feedback at the Regional Heat and from the two visits we had from local barristers.

"At the Old Bailey they were consistently praised for the standard of their advocacy and their ability to think on their feet.

"They were simply fantastic and we are 'immensely' proud of them all."

Jack Harris, a former QE student, shortly to qualify as a barrister, came along to support the team.

Jack, who took part in a number of Bar Mock Trials during his time at QE, said "The performance of this team was 'flawless'."

The winning team consisted of: Gareth Allen, Abigail Ballard, Isabel Boulter, Jamie Charlton, Jess Clifton, Julia Coryton, Alice Lomas, Georgina May, Josh Pike, Grace Robinson, and Freya Still.

QE send a very special thanks to Dominic Jones who, unfortunately, was not able to go to the Old Bailey, but who was a barrister on the winning team in the Regional Heat in Plymouth.

Principal, Richard Newton Chance, said: "It is absolutely brilliant that our young people can go and compete successfully against students from private and public schools from all over the UK.

"They have been very well supported by Margaret and Maggie, but they still had to perform on their own and under intense pressure. I am immensely proud of them."

Alan Quick