PUPILS from two schools are taking part in a courtroom competition.

Students from Greenhead College, Huddersfield, and Rastrick High are taking part in the first regional round of the Bar National Mock Trial Competition at Leeds Combined Court Centre tomorrow.

The competition is organised by the Bar Council - the governing body for barristers - and the Citizenship Foundation, a charity which pays for citizenship education projects.

The competition has been running for 14 years and this year inv- olves 154 UK schools, 11 are from Yorkshire.

Teams from each school get the chance to play the parts of barristers, witnesses, court staff and jurors in mock trials. The trials will be judged by real circuit judges.

The most successful teams will compete in the national final next March at Bristol Crown Court.

Stephen Irwin QC, chairman of the Bar, said: "The Mock Trials Competition is a superb exercise of talent and wits by the participants.

"The process reminds us how important it is for citizens to engage with our legal system and understand the value of the rule of law."