Students talk their way to regional success

RIPON Grammar School students have earned a place in the regional round of a major national debating competition.

Nancy Manners, Annabel Cochrane and Sandy Barclay scored an impressive victory against Yarm School in their latest hard-fought debate, placing them among the strongest young debaters in the North-East.

They argued against the motion that climate protests which disrupt daily life are morally justified.

Annabel said: “It was a tough competition, but it was great to explore a side of a debate that we found genuinely difficult to argue in some respects.

They will now compete in the regional final of the English-Speaking Union Schools’ Mace competition, the penultimate round, in March.

The UK Grand Final will be held in London later in the year.

The competition, founded in 1957 by journalist Kenneth Harris of the Observer, is an annual debating tournament for secondary schools in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.