By Sarah Morcom
Portsmouth university students will soon find themselves battling it out in court.
A mock courtroom has opened at the university – the first in the south east.
Future lawyers, social workers and probation officers will be trained in the £1m development which was opened Wednesday 3 February, by Richard Price, Resident Judge of Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight.
The courtroom is an exact replica of a crown court and features dock, witness, public gallery, jury and interview rooms.
Court proceedings can be filmed ready for feedback, or fed straight into teaching rooms for observation.
Students from the School of Law will be making use of the state-of-the-art facilities, giving them a chance to practise the art of persuasion, stage trials and practise advocacy.
Other students from the university will benefit from the development too. Those training to be social workers, probation officers or journalists will be given the opportunity to practise interviewing and testimony.
Judge Price said: “I am very impressed by the range and feel of this terrific new facility at the University.
“The courtroom will be a bonus to law students who can learn advocacy skills in relaxed surroundings with all sorts of professional input from lecturers, judges and other members of the legal profession.
“It is a wonderful addition to the university, which in every sense feels like a working courtroom. Practising the key skill of advocacy can be extremely scary but students will soon gain confidence.
“By bringing law to life using these facilities Portsmouth students will have a head start in a law career which really is a significant opportunity.”
Head of the School of Law, Caroline Strevens, said: “The mock courtroom is a fantastic resource for the university. I believe learning by doing is extremely valuable for our students, who will now enter the world of work far better prepared.
“The students will also have the added benefit of being able to evaluate their learning from a different perspective – by watching themselves on screen in a courtroom environment they can see how they coped.
“Video-coaching is an extremely effective and efficient method of giving feedback that will revolutionise the way we teach.”
Members of the public and local school children will be invited to attend the mock courtroom to see role play of the criminal and civil justice process.