PUPILS from Wood Green School had their legal knowledge put on trial in a real courtroom setting.

They were among children from Oxfordshire secondary schools who spent a day at Oxford Magistrates’ Court in a contest to win a mock trial.

The national Mock Trial Competition has been run since 1994 by the Citizenship Foundation, to engage pupils in the judicial process.

The 17 budding barristers from Wood Green School won the county heat and will now represent Oxfordshire in the regional round in Reading in May.

Abby Patrick, 14, who acted as a defence lawyer, said: “The day we spent at mock trial was an excellent experience.

“I really enjoyed the whole day and I learned a lot.

“When we went into court, I was slightly nervous, but as we got into it I relaxed.

“We never expected to win at all, so when they called out our school name it was a massive shock.

“We’re looking forward to the next round and will do our very best.”

In the roles of lawyers, witnesses, magistrates and court staff, year nine students prosecuted and defended specially-written criminal cases.

Alice Pillin, 14, who was a defendant for the day, said: “When we arrived we were all very nervous but we were determined to give it our best shot.

“Going into a real magistrates’ court was such an amazing opportunity and it was so interesting to see how a trial would be run.

“After going up against Cherwell School, for the defence, and Cheney, for the prosecution, we thought we had performed quite well.

“At the awards ceremony each school was called out to collect their certificates and whichever school was left until last was the winner.

“Our name hadn’t been called, so we all thought that we’d been forgotten.”

She added: “All of our hard work paid off and we’re really looking forward to the regional finals in Reading.”