Pupils from Bradford on Avon and Trowbridge will have the chance to learn about the legal system when they experience life in court as part of a competition.

St Laurence School, Bradford on Avon, and John of Gaunt School, Trowbridge, will be taking part in this year’s 2013 Magistrates’ Court Mock Trial Competition at North Avon Court, in Yate, on March 16.

They can be on the defence and prosecution team, taking on the roles of lawyers, witnesses, magistrates, court staff and a defendant.

The competition will develop their confidence in personal skills such as public speaking, analysis techniques and working as a team.

Trudi Chatfield, head of law at St Laurence, said: “It deepens students’ understanding of current affairs and is an opportunity to apply legal principles in a practical manner. “For many it is the first stage in a journey towards a career in law.”