PUPILS from Bewdley and Cleobury Mortimer will appear in court to decide whether an “ex-soldier accused of assault” is “guilty or not guilty” - for a mock trial contest.

Young people from the Bewdley School and Sixth Form Centre and Lacon Childe School be among more than 200 pupils to take part in the Worcestershire heat of the 2013 school’s mock trial competition.

Teams of 12 to 14 year olds from 15 schools will take on the roles of lawyers, witnesses, magistrates, court staff at the event at Worcester Magistrates Court on Saturday, March 16.

They will use a specially written criminal case where the defendant, an ex-soldier, is accused of assault following a pub crawl that had turned violent.

Pupils will be asked to consider the new area of law on joint enterprise by deciding whether the defendant helped his friends carry out an assault, if he is not guilty of directly assaulting the victim himself.

Organisers, the Citizenship Foundation, in partnership with the Magistrates’ Association, say the competition enables students to learn about all aspects of the criminal justice system.

Local magistrates and other legal professionals will help the teams prepare before the contest.

Awards will be presented to local heat winners at Worcester Crown Court by HH Judge Robert Juckes. There are prizes for the winning team and runners up, the best student bench and most outstanding pupil.

There is also an award for the best court reporter, presented by Peter John, editor of The Shuttle’s sister paper Worcester News.

Winning teams from 69 heats across the UK will take part in regional finals in May, followed by the national final at Nottingham Magistrates Court in June.

Lacon Childe School pupils were runners up in last year’s Worcestershire competition.