School Mock Court Project appeals for tutors

An urgent appeal has gone out for tutors for the School Mock Court Project.

Now entering its ninth year, the project has seen a huge increase in the number of students and schools taking part – from two schools and 40 students to some 80 schools and around 3,000 students. This academic year also sees the project entering international competitions. So popular is the project, registrations closed well before the summer recess.

The increase in popularity has brought a need for more tutors. Paralegals, trainees, solicitors and advocates make up the 80 or so already involved, but another 50 are still needed, particularly around the outskirts of Glasgow and the central belt. Tutors visit a school (either as a pursuer or defender tutor) three times; each visit is about six weeks apart and the tutorials last between 60 and 90 minutes. There are tutor training sessions in Motherwell (St Brendan's Primary School, Monday 18 September, 2-4pm) and Perth (Perth Concert Hall, Monday 11 September, 2-4pm).

Designed "to integrate a project into the schools that children would enjoy without realising they were learning", and giving them the experience of appearing before a real sheriff in a real court, the project claims to offer tutors a fantastic opportunity to engage with the local community, with the work counting as three hours' CPD.

For more information, go to www.mockcourt.org.uk or call Ms Kosir on 0131 555 8415. To register as a tutor, see www.mockcourt.org.uk/tutor.