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Eynesbury Senior College students see the benefit of having a city as their classroom

It’s a short walk from school on Franklin Street to the District Court, where these Eynesbury students recently took out the Grand Final of the Law Society’s Mock Trial Competition.

Nov 15, 2018, updated Nov 15, 2018

“I’ve wanted to be a lawyer since I was seven,” says Annalise, a Year 12 student at Eynesbury Senior College.

She’s not alone. Annalise is part of a team of 13 students from Eynesbury who competed in the Law Society of South Australia’s Mock Trial competition.

“Walford was probably the toughest challenge,” says Bonnie reflecting on the series of trials Eynesbury has been through.

“They had great witnesses,” says Annalise.

The Law Society of South Australia Mock Trial Competition comprises a series of simulated court cases contested by students from Years 10, 11 or 12 and is designed to bring young South Australians closer to the workings of our State’s legal system while teaching them to present a persuasive argument.

Making real-world connections with people in the legal community and receiving coaching from a practicing barrister is incredibly valuable. For someone like Annalise it confirms she’s on the right career path.

The Eynesbury team is different to other schools – who tend to field teams based on age – as their team is comprised of students across all three year levels.

Taylor is in Year 10 at Eynesbury and this is her first experience of the extracurricular course.

“There’re no barriers between the year levels at Eynesbury,” she says. “That’s one of the great experiences of this school and this competition working as equals.”

Equality aside – victory was the goal for these students and they agree that Mock Trial is 100 per cent their version of team sport.

Annalise says winning Mock Trial was on her ‘bucket list’. She was also awarded  Best Barrister in the Grand Final and received a one-week internship with Supreme Court Justice, Tim Stanley, essentially making her the MVP.

The Eynesbury team battled Temple Christian College, then PAC, Walford, Saint Mary’s and finally Torrens Valley Christian School in the Grand Final.

The Eynesbury team won $600 – they got paid like real lawyers – as a result of their victory and Will says the team spent the winnings on a meal together in the city.

This is Will’s third year doing Mock Trial and he says he’ll miss it. We wonder whether three years of preparing for trial has changed his personality much.

“My dad does tell me to stop acting like a lawyer a lot,” he laughs.

“In Year 12, I do get some course credit for this [mock trial] but I would have done it anyway,” Will assures us.

“Being in Year 12, you’re really busy,” says Bonnie. “That’s where it’s so great having the Year 10s and 11s there to support you and research and pick up where you necessarily have to drop off and focus on your other subjects.”

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The whole competition runs like a real world legal practices with juniors, associates and partners all filling in and working together to prepare for the case.

Nick loves the freedom he’s felt since coming to Eynesbury. He loves that he doesn’t have to wear a uniform – even though he’s dressed as sharply as a lawyer himself.

“I love the ease of access I’ve experienced at this school.”

“Being right in the city,” Nick says, “you’re in the middle of it all and  you can see where you want to be and what you want to do.”

“That’s right,” says Jayde, “we get to learn outside of the classroom and we have that access to the best resources – we can go to the State Library to research something if we need to.”

Each student in front of us expands on those two main points of difference between the Eynesbury College experience and other high schools: freedom and access.

Just by choosing Eynesbury, these students are given a ‘hall pass’ by their teachers and the administration to use the city as fully-fledged members of society. The result of this trust manifests most keenly in the students’ desire to do the right thing and make the most of their time here.

“I can’t describe the feeling,” says Taylor. “Mock Trial has been the best experience; the meetings; the research; the teamwork. I am going to miss it but I can’t wait to start again next year,” she says.

Sincere and natural enthusiasm like that cannot be taught, but it certainly can be encouraged by the right school.

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