A BUDDING young lawyer has scooped a top award at an international court competition.

Zosia Kuczok was part of the British team who took part in the prestigious International Moot Court competition, which saw 14 teams from around the globe taking part last month in The Hague, Netherlands.

The 16-year-old, who is in her final year at Dunbar Grammar School, was named the best speaker for the British team and presented with a glass plaque.

Zosia, who was also part of the Dunbar Grammar School team which was crowned Scotland’s Mock Court champions, told the Courier how the experience had set her up for hopefully going on to study law next year.

She said: “I loved every minute of it and it was so inspiring.

“The competition was really hard going and we had a lot of work to do but had great fun meeting all the people from different countries and hanging about with them in the hotel.

“There were 16 teams taking part and there were people from everywhere from New York to Venezuela and Russia.

“It was amazing to see we could have so much in common with people from different cultures.”

The British team, which was made up of pupils from schools in Scotland’s Central Belt, including Ross High School pupil Jordan Smith, had to tackle a case regarding war crimes.

Other teams taking part were from: Buenos Aires, Argentina; Baku, Azerbaijan; Sofia, Bulgaria; Munich, Germany; Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; The Hague, Netherlands; Gdynia, Poland; Campulung Muscel, Romania; Moscow and St Petersburg, Russia; Pretoria, South Africa; New York City, USA (two teams); and Caracas, Venezuela.

Zosia, of West Barns, took on the role of prosecution speaker, dealing with rebuttals and arguing against what the other team were saying, thinking of arguments on the spot.

The experience has given the teenager, who is fluent in Polish and hopes to study law at the University of Edinburgh, a hunger to study international law.

She added: “We met so many incredible people. We went to receptions with mayors and diplomats from different countries.”

Now attention turns to linking up with her secondary school classmates in preparing for a trip to New York as Zosia, Anique Burke, Finlay McConnachie, Roman Burke, Morgan Forbes and Olivia Lairdhead head to the US and take on American teams in a mock court contest.

Zosia – who is studying Advanced Higher English and modern studies, as well as Higher politics and business and an Open University law course – jets out three days after her final exam, with the school prom sandwiched in between.

She added: “It is funny, there was a New York team in The Hague and I met a guy that we are going to be competing against. We will be going to a school in Queens to study law for two days and then competing against that school in federal court in a family case.”