Students from across the Highlands put their debating and public speaking skills into practice this week at the second annual Highland Debating Competition for Schools.
The competition – organised by Young Speakers Scotland (YSS) and sponsored by law firm Brodies LLP – saw Invergordon Academy students Shaun Love and Cameron Smith triumph as winners over their opponents from Dingwall Academy, Nairn Academy and Thurso High School in the final of the competition.
16 teams from schools across Inverness, Nairn, Ross-shire, Strathspey and Badenoch, and Caithness participated in a series of debates on Wednesday 18 June at the Highland Council Chambers in Dingwall, covering a range of topics including public events and parental responsibility.
The event was supported by Highland Council and teachers from the region.
Jordan Pfotenhauer, programme director at YSS said: "Congratulations to all students for their hard work and commitment to delivering informed and engaging debates and discussion on the day. I'm delighted that the competition has built on the success of last year's event with even more participation from across the region, giving a greater number of students the opportunity to put into practice their competitive debating skills."
Inverness-based Brodies' family law partner Sarah Lilley said: "Debating and public speaking encourages the development of valuable skills for young people, for a wide variety of future careers, including law. Brodies is highly supportive of the opportunities that this competition opens up to students across the Highlands and I'm pleased to see that this year's competition has attracted a high standard of debate."
Shaun Love, who was on the winning team from Invergordon Academy, added: “I had an amazing time at this year's competition. Last year I lost every debate so it was great to see my hard work throughout the year pay off. I learned so much during the competition and can’t wait to debate more next year!"
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