Talk about success! (From Penarth Times)

Talk about success!

YEAR 9 pupils at Stanwell had the chance to speak their minds in the last week of the summer term when they took part in the annual Key Stage 3 Debating Competition.

The competition for the Alan Carter Cup attracted eight teams, who chose to speak on issues as different as world debt, identity cards and stem cell research.

In teams of three pupils, they showed evidence of remarkable understanding and research into very complex subjects and entertained a large audience of Year 9 spectators with great confidence.

The winning team spoke on the controversial topic of the war in Iraq and reflected the split in public opinion, making a strong case both for and against.

The two excellent speakers were Florence Page and Hannah Valentine, with Nicola Jeffery as an able chairwoman.

Runners-up chose an equally demanding subject - whether immigration into the UK should be restricted - and the three boys, Adam Jones, Rhys Topping and Matthew Soltys, demonstrated impressive teamwork in their preparation and delivery.

Members of the Senior Prefect Team from the sixth form acted as the judges and were very impressed by the standard of the debate, as well as the audience participation in asking questions.

They also awarded individual prizes of book tokens to Marvin Mulanga, Olivia Beale for their speeches and also to Eilis Crowe who was the best chair.

The organisers are once again very grateful to Stanwell School PTA for their support by funding the prizes for all the winners.

Thanks must also go to the prefects for judging.