Bay of Plenty secondary school students who want to get a taste of law and experience the thrill of the court can take part in the University of Waikato's 2016 Secondary Schools' Mooting Competition.

Registrations are open to teams from any New Zealand high school and traditionally there has been a good representation from Bay schools.

A moot is a legal debate in a court setting with a judge or a panel of judges. Students get to work on real cases and decide how to apply their argument to an area of uncertainty in the law, before presenting their case to a panel of judges and an opposing team.

Competition co-ordinator Cheryl Green from Te Piringa - Faculty of Law says the competition helps students develop legal reasoning, the principles of legal research, learn the process of litigation and court etiquette and procedures.

This year, registrations come as far as Kaitaia and Invercargill. Last year Hamilton Boys' High School had won the competition by a small margin competing against Francis Douglas Memorial College in New Plymouth.

Registrations are now open and all schools are encouraged to apply until March 11.

For more information and video content, go to www.waikato.ac.nz/go/schoolsmooting