Six local primary schools held a debating competition in the impressive surroundings of the Council Chamber at County Hall, North Yorkshire Council’s headquarters in Northallerton on 17 October. Chair of the Council, Roberta Swiers, was in the chair, and she introduced and controlled the lively debate.
Year 6 pupils from Broomfield, Mill Hill, Osmotherley, Romanby, Alverton and Applegarth schools took part. The motion for the debate was “This house believes that every child should be allowed to have a mobile phone at school”, a topically contentious issue. Two pupils from each school spoke in the debate, one for and one against the motion. They were supported by their colleagues in the audience, who also probed with questions.
The event was organised by Ken Blackwood of the Rotary Club of Northallerton, which has held these competitions for many years. The debate performances were judged by Rotarians Tom Banfield, Christine Mason and Ian Isherwood. Ian commented that “the judges were most impressed by the confidence and quality of the debaters, and the choice of the winning school was therefore difficult. However, the unanimous decision was to award the trophy to Joshua and Alyssa from Romanby School, for their clarity, persuasiveness and professional addresses”.
Not surprisingly, the motion was carried in the vote by the children!
Photo: Front Row left to right: Northallerton Rotary Club President David Ison, Joshua, Alyssa, and Council Chair Roberta Swiers. Rear left to right: Judges Tom Banfield, Ian Isherwood and Christine Mason.
