Behind the scenes at Legal Taskmaster and the schooling of future Scottish solicitors

Primary children from Edinburgh and Dundee were put to the test by legal taskmasters in the fun-filled Scottish final of the School Tasking competition.

Murder, cannibalism and biscuits were the subjects of intense and noisy debate in the boardroom of Addleshaw Goddard’s Edinburgh office on Friday 9 May. Thankfully this was not a partners’ meeting but the setting for the School Tasking Scottish final. Teams of Primary 6 children from schools in Edinburgh and Dundee enjoyed the sunny panoramic view as they excitedly performed the Taskmaster’s tasks, all hoping to be crowned the 2024/25 Scottish winners.

Meet the taskmasters

School Tasking is an outreach project enabling primary children to learn aspects of the law through fun tasks in the style of the Taskmaster television series. It aims to reach primary schools that meet specific widening participation criteria and pairs them up with their nearest participating university. The brainchild of Dr Ali Struthers, a former Scottish solicitor turned legal academic at the University of Warwick, the project has rolled out to 30 universities across the UK and Ireland.

The Dundee teams were fresh from a fantastic local final at the V&A Museum the week before, led by University of Dundee Education lecturer Sharon Tonner-Saunders, student teachers Ella, Erin and Ewan, V&A Schools Development Officer Gary Jamieson and legal academic Yvonne Evans (using her expertise in the tax status of Jaffa Cakes).

The University of Edinburgh Law School ran sessions in Edinburgh schools, with Dr Susanna Macdonald-Mulvihill and Elizabeth Lilley taking the lead, assisted by law students.

Edinburgh Law School and Addleshaw Goddard CSR Manager Heather McKendrick organised the Scottish final, with Professor James Harrison and Jess East judging the final alongside solicitor Lauren Hill. Lindsay Jack from the Law Society of Scotland acted as host for the final, having been involved in School Tasking since its inception in 2022.

Your time starts now…

The first task was to draw a shield depicting the team and reflecting the team’s name. The teams competing were Downfield Primary’s ‘Law Followers’, Forthview’s ‘PDNF’ (their initials), Glebelands’ ‘Boss Babies’, Pirniehall’s ‘Da Nuggets’ and Sidlaw View’s ‘Froggy Law 50’. The colourful creations incorporated school colours and symbols.

Next, Lindsay told the children about the famous ‘Cabin boy’ cannibalism case, R v Dudley & Stephens (1884). She gave them 40 minutes to create a stop-motion Lego animation telling the tale of shipwreck and murder. The Law Followers excelled, with their animation incorporating a voice narration explaining the law of necessity. Boss Babies came second, with their final frame redemptively stating: “I’ll be a good person now.”

The next task was to answer a set of legal questions based on the earlier school sessions, to crack a code for a padlock in order to free ‘Little Alex Horne’ from a locked box. Teams had to solve a crossword and unscramble letters to spell the first number; pick the right envelope based on the principle of ejusdem generis to find the second; complete a maths puzzle based on articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; and find a way to transport rice across a table using a colander. Any spilt rice was weighed and a time penalty calculated. PDNF showed great teamworking and completed this task quickest. James from Da Nuggets had the genius idea of using his bucket hat to minimise the lost rice, helping his team come second in the task without any time penalty.

Snack attack

KitKat’s failed trademark case was the topic of the next task, with Connor from Law Followers providing a perfect explanation of trademark law. Ten bags containing biscuits were brought in, and pupils had to identify the biscuit from touch only. KitKats, Tunnock’s Caramel Wafers and Digestives proved easier to identify than Penguins, Oreos and Hobnobs. Da Nuggets lived up to their gastronomic name and won most points. The final task was to disguise biscuits in icing and other confectionery, so that the judges could not identify the biscuit within.

After deliberations over the messy final task, the winning team was announced and prizes presented by Addleshaw Goddard Partner David Hughes. Da Nuggets, from Pirniehall Primary, Edinburgh, were crowned Scottish Champions 2024/25. The four other teams tied second. The winners received generous prizes sponsored by Addeshaw Goddard, and the team has the opportunity of going to the UK Champion of Champions final hosted by the real Alex Horne in Warwick in June.

Well done to all pupils who took part in the school sessions, local finals and Scottish final this year. Thank you to Addleshaw Goddard for hosting the final, and congratulations to all schools who took part. We hope there will be even more universities and schools involved across Scotland in 2025/26.

Written by Yvonne Evans and Sharon Tonner-Saunders, University of Dundee