Elizabeth College has won this year's Guernsey Collas Crill Moot.
Mariella Groulef and Amelie Torode from the Ladies' College and Sam Savory and Cameron Alexander-Sloman from Elizabeth College came through three rounds of the annual competition to reach the hotly contested final, which took place in Court 3 of the Royal Courts of Guernsey.
The final was presided over by a judging panel of the Deputy Bailiff Jessica Roland, Collas Crill Senior Partner and Lieutenant Bailiff Jason Green and Partner Wayne Atkinson.
The students went head to head in a fictitious negligence case involving a team of ex-international cricket players and experienced a truly authentic courtroom trial with full adherence to official court formalities, regalia and etiquette. This extended to the students' friends, family and teachers from both schools, as well as their Collas Crill coaches, who watched on from the viewing gallery.
The four students all put forward their cases to the judges as counsel for their fictitious clients.
The students were then marked on a number of factors including their court etiquette, persuasiveness, clarity, body language and time-keeping.
In her closing remarks the Deputy Bailiff commented that it was incredibly close. She said that all four students did extremely well and should be very proud of themselves but that the Elizabeth College team just had the edge. She offered congratulations to both teams.
Jason Green said: 'This is the first time I have taken part in the Moot on the judging panel and I was hugely impressed by how eloquent and professional all four students were. They all stepped up to the challenge of representing their clients, kept their cool when questioned and it was clear to see how much work they had put in preparing for the final. Congratulations to Sam and Cameron and a huge well done to Mariella and Amelie.'
This is the fourth year the Deputy Bailiff has presiding over the Collas Crill Moot as judge.
'The Moot is a fully immersive experience for the students throughout the competition. Staging the final in the Royal Court takes this to another level so it plays out just as a real-life negligence case would do. I would like to thank Deputy Bailiff Jessica Roland for her support once again, and for allowing us to stage the final at Royal Court,' said Advocate Green.
Around 100 sixth form students from Ladies' College, Elizabeth College, Blanchelande College and the Sixth Form Centre took part in this year's competition.
Sam and Cameron were presented with the Collas Crill Moot shield to take back to Elizabeth College, as well as individual prizes and trophies. Mariella and Amelie also received gifts from Collas Crill.
About the Collas Crill Moot
• The Collas Crill Moot involves students studying real-life legal case notes and applying them to a mock court situation.
• Participants are mentored and coached by Collas Crill paralegals and trainee solicitors throughout the competition and judged by some of the firm's partners during the mock trials.
• The competition has been running in Guernsey for 17 years and three in Cayman. The firm launched its inaugural Jersey Collas Crill Moot in September of this year.
• The Ladies' College has been victorious in the Guernsey annual inter-school competition for the past two years.
Jason Green, Deputy Bailiff Jessica Roland, Sam Savory, Cameron Alexander-Sloman, Wayne Atkinson
Elise Mellor and Isabelle Walker (Collas Crill) who were coaches to the Ladies' College team - Mariella Groulef and Amelie Torode
