Sacred Heart and Tarbolton Primary pupils proved their legal potential at the School Mock Court Project Juniors regional heats held recently at Ayr Sheriff Court. 

The teams battled it out in a mock civil case for damages arising from a birthday party with P5W winning as the pursuers and Sacred Heart Primary School - the runners up.

Positions were reversed for the winning defenders with Sacred Heart coming out on top and Tarbolton as runners-up.

The Ayrshire heats, on Tuesday, November 7 are one of a number of regional contests being held in the Lothians, Falkirk, Glasgow, Tayside and Fife, and Central from November to January. 

The winning teams will be selected to go through to the national finals on Tuesday, March 13 at the Central Hall, Edinburgh.

The School Mock Court Case Project organises competitions for both juniors and seniors and the events supported by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service which provides venues for trials to take place and help with staging competitions.

More than 80 schools from around Scotland registered for the project this year and since the scheme began 10,000 pupils have benefited from it.

The founder, Gerald Murphy, looked at the Parental Involvement Act and the then new Curriculum for Excellence from a parents perspective. 

Recalling schooling of old, the desire was to integrate a project into the schools that children would enjoy without realising they were learning and that had an aim that would surpass what is not ordinarily available to inspire students - appearing before a real Sheriff in a real court.