O’Reilly Stewart Solicitors were proud sponsors of a team of students from Campbell College, Belfast, that recently competed in the Bar Mock Trial National Finals 2025 held at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
The Campbell College team competed against 24 other regional heat winners/schools from across the UK and finished a narrow and very creditable second to The Boswells School, Essex. 214 schools and over 3,000 students took part in the competition this year, with thousands more having taken part since it was founded nearly 35 years ago.
There was some great feedback from the scholars on the trip, including Joshua, aged 15, who said, “The judges were really helpful. It’s hard to believe they are the same judges who hear real barristers in the highest courts in the land every day. It has definitely inspired me to be a judge in the future.”
Jan Hempstead, (Teacher of History and Politics and Acting Head of Careers), of Campbell College, commented, ” these boys were great to work with from the start. They took charge of their cases and practised relentlessly. It is a wonderful example of how stepping out of your comfort zone can reap reward. They have developed their skills in critical thinking, communication, collaboration and teamwork and with all that hard work behind them, had the confidence to rise to the occasion in such prestigious surroundings. Congratulations to each one of them on the role they played.”
O’Reilly Stewart Managing Director, Stuart Gilmore, said, “It was a real privilege to assist Campbell College in this terrific achievement. At O’Reilly Stewart we have had a long history of supporting legal education and encouraging young people to consider a career path in law and we were delighted to have been offered the opportunity to help the lads from Campbell compete in London. From all the reports I have heard, the boys did themselves and their school proud and it seems that we are going to have a very promising crop of young lawyers in a few years time.”
