Well done to both teams in Round 1 of the 2026 Mock Trial competition. With many new team members, we were excited for the trial after seven weeks of preparation and team and Coach meetings.

On Wednesday 18 March, our two teams took on Mercedes and La Salle Colleges at the Supreme Court. The criminal case involved an alleged assault by a retiree against a university student on an e-scooter – did she put her arm out at the last second on purpose to ‘clothesline’ him as he passed her garden and sunflowers, or was it just an accident? The verdict was Not Guilty as it’s a very high standard of proof. However, the contest was the crucial part of the competition – The ‘Dennis Denutoes’ as Prosecution won 132 to 124. Eleni Chapman and Jayden Pham were polished barristers. Emma Dean was an outstanding witness. Hannah Pollitt was a solid police officer.

The other team acted for the Defence, and their team name is ‘Themis’ after the Greek goddess for law and order. They lost 122.5 to 117.5 but all did very well. Isabella Commisso was a credible witness and in character the entire time. Avleen Kaur scored the highest of all witnesses in her court. Emily Travis and Alex Kaless both presented very well in their first time in the barrister role. All team members did a great job and followed the advice of our Coach (Hon John McKechnie KC AO) to ‘never give an inch’. Our reserves were observant and learned a lot from watching. Thank you to all spectators.

Round 2 and 3 continue for all teams next term.

We are very proud of you all.

‘The Dennis Denutoes’

B1 Jayden Pham; W1 Emma Dean; B2 Eleni Chapman; W2 Hannah Pollitt; S Annika Rendall; CO Andrea Mandujano Liu

Reserves: Craig De Mello, Alexandra Nwe, Kaitlin Soh, Ethan Lim, Benjamin Wilathgamuwa, Layla Casham, Stella D’Esposito.

‘Themis’

B1 Emily Travis; W1 Isabella Commisso; B2 Alex Kaless; W2 Avleen Kaur; S Lily Hile; JA Juanita Paolone.

Reserves: Jasmine Ani, Zoe Gitonga, Mia Broadbent, Ziva de Longis, Leah McManus, Holly Morin

Ms Natasha Clark & Mr Ryan Dhue
Humanities Teachers