Out and About

Winning streak - and the case of the stolen BMW!

St George’s is on a riveting roll – winning the fourth mock trial in a row at the preliminary finals of the Law Society of Western Australia’s Mock Trial Contest. 

Facing St Brigid’s College in a civil law case at the Supreme Court, we were suing a car mechanic called Elite Performance in a case that centred around a BMW M3 Coupe, owned by the plaintiff, played by Georgia Rose Dewar, that was stolen by persons unknown while it was being serviced at Elite.

Within the grandeur of the Courtroom One in the Supreme Court building, Gabe Bott opened the trial as the Court Orderly. Our first barrister, Cooper Grant, opened by arguing that Elite Performance had a legal obligation to take reasonable steps to prevent the car from being stolen while it was in their possession. 

Cooper called Georgia Rose as the first witness. She noted that there were no obvious security measures in place. Georgia Rose’s acting talents ensured she was able to response to St Brigid barrister’s cross-examination without issue.

Our second barrister, Fred Keane, then called a friend of the plaintiff, played by Zeming Guo. Zeming was a car enthusiast who provided evidence of the value of the car. More importantly, he saw the alleged thieves driving the car away from the mechanic with the windows down.  

Both Cooper and Fred did an excellent job of cross-examining the two defence witnesses from St Brigid’s. Their carefully planned questioning painted the picture of Elite Performance as a poorly managed company that lost paperwork and had done nothing to improve security after another BMW had been stolen from their car yard two years earlier. 

Throughout the trial, Diya Makwana did an excellent job of assisting the barristers as their instructing solicitor; her detailed mind maps of the case helped build the coherent legal case that gave our team the edge over St Brigid’s. Aided by his team, Fred’s closing speech articulated Elite Performance’s failure to take reasonable precautions to protect the BMW.

The Judge found in favour of the plaintiff, noting that both teams had done extremely well but overall, the clarity of the case and focus of our barrister’s cross-examination put us ahead.

A huge congratulations to every member of the team. This victory could only come about because of the efforts they have been putting into preparing for the trial.

Mr Ken Maddess

Head of HASS

Debating is more than meets the eye

This week our Novice Debating Team was narrowly defeated by Willetton Senior High School debating against the proposition that “We should introduce an Academic Olympics”.

St George’s was admirably represented by Jenna Arnold, Oscar Quartermaine, Owen Bishop and supported on the night by Elisa Flynn. This brings to an end the novice debating journey for 2024. I always maintain that much more is gained from the challenge of debating than immediately meets the eye. 

Our Novice Team has come a long way this year, taking on a challenges that have often taken them a good way outside of their comfort zones. I would like to thank Ms Newbold for the ongoing support that she has offered this team and to our parents for the dedication that they have shown in attending our debates. It has always been heartening to know that, win or lose, we bring an enthusiastic audience along with us. It was encouraging, at the end of the evening, to note how many members of this team expressed a clear desire to participate in WADL Debating 25. 

Mr Damien Kerrigan

Head of Languages