19 July 2024
Harrisdale Primary School has taken out this year’ s Law Society of Western Australia Cluedunnit Kids competition, for the second year in a row.
The competition challenged Year 6 students from 26 schools to solve a mock ‘crime’ by determining the prime suspects and identifying the offender. They presented their findings in creative videos.
The competition has been run by the Law Society’s educational arm, the Francis Burt Law Education Programme, since 2016. This year, 75 teams took part from across WA.
The students were asked to investigate who had thrown tomato sauce at a girl at a sports carnival, and stolen her shoes. Team names included the Ketchup Krew, Tomato Trackers and Saucy Sleuths.
Harrisdale team captain Nithuna Sugumar said the competitors really enjoyed hunting for clues.
“We got to investigate fictional crimes and expand our knowledge about the process and laws of juvenile justice,” she said.
Law Society President Paula Wilkinson, one of this year’s competition judges, said Cluedunnit Kids offered students a great opportunity to use their creative skills.
“The Law Society is very proud of this competition, and we know from this year’s survey results that almost 90 per cent of the students said Cluedunnit Kids gave them a more realistic understanding of the work of the Courts,” Ms Wilkinson said.
“Importantly, every teacher who answered our survey said the competition had helped the students’ literacy, critical and creative thinking and ethical understanding.”
This year’s winners were announced in a courtroom at the Children’s Court of Western Australia.
Children’s Court President Judge Hylton Quail said Cluedunnit Kids gave students the opportunity to solve mock cases, while learning about the legal system.
“The students engage in the basics of police work and the law, so it offers a great opportunity for them to start thinking about career choices, too,” Judge Quail said.
“At the same time, they are having a lot of fun in solving their case by asking the right questions and using the fundamental principles provided to them in the guidelines.”
The opportunity for the winners to have their awards presented in a real courtroom setting was an added bonus, he said.
“I am always much happier to see children here in this educative environment rather than in the usual capacity in which they appear before me,” Judge Quail said.
The runner up school this year was Frederick Irwin Anglican School, while the Ambassador School winner – for how team members conducted themselves during the hunt for clues – was St Mary’s Anglican Girls’ School.
The winning video entries can be viewed here.
The competition was sponsored again this year by the Curtin Law School with support from WA Police and Legal Aid WA.
