Last Friday, New Hampshire attorneys,some from as far as Washington, D.C. served as judges for the “We the People” congressional mock hearing. HBHS, one of two participating schools, was represented by the AP Government and Politics class.

After several months of preparation, the students were well-versed in their knowledge of all things American government. Overarching questions were sent out ahead of time to allow for the composition of a four-minute, written response. Afterwards there were six minutes of random questions that the teams hadn’t been allowed to prepare for.

While the competition required an extensive amount of research, it was equally important that the participating students could think on their feet. Judges not only tested knowledge, but also ability to apply underlying principles to current events.

“Fake it ‘till you make it. Even if you don’t know the answer, confidence will go a long way.” Andrew Bisbee ‘16 advised.

Students were judged by their ability to think critically and respond eloquently.

The teams from Milford and Hollis Brookline, gathered in a larger room for the award ceremony. Out of a total 2160 possible points that each school could’ve achieved, Milford High School won by only two.

Milford has historically won this competition in ‘landslides’, with competitors trailing by no less than two-hundred points.

However, times have changed. This year’s Hollis Brookline team gave the all-time champs a run for their money, but fell just short.

Despite the loss, HB was invited to participate in the national competition in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, it proved to be too big a commitment for many of the students, so the spot was given to another school.

Future AP Government hopefuls should expect to hit hard at next year’s competition, and hopefully come home with a win.