Young ‘legal eagles’ delighted to be in final

Una Campbell and Luke McCallion will compete against three other schools from the UK to be crowned the winning team in the final at News UK (Headquarters of The Times) on June 19.

Una is a past pupil of St Patrick’s Primary School, Ardboe, while Luke attended St Mary’s Primary School in Draperstown,

Launched last September by law firm Kingsley Napley LLP in partnership with The Times, the competition saw 902 teams from 308 schools across the UK compete against each other through a series of heats testing pupils’ drafting, negotiation and interpersonal skills.

Since then, the St Mary’s pupils, under the guidance of Catriona Donoghue, Head of Careers, they have spent many hours after school preparing for their participation in the prestigious competition.

Expressing her delight at the success of the students, Ms Donoghue said: “We are absolutely delighted to have reached the Legal Apprentice final. We have learned so much about the legal profession and are very grateful to Kingsley Napley for this wonderful opportunity. We are looking forward to the final and feel privileged to represent our school and Northern Ireland.”

Students in the winning team will each receive £500 and will be interviewed by Kingsley Napley for the ultimate prize of winning a highly coveted paid-for apprenticeship at the firm following completion of their A-Levels. The winning team’s school will also receive £5,000 to put towards any technical advancement of their choice.

The second runner-up will receive a paid-for internship at Kingsley Napley and the remaining pupil from the winning team will receive one week’s work experience at the firm.

In preparation for the final, pupils will attend a one-day masterclass hosted by the firm to hone their legal and debating skills.