Four schools fielded nine teams for debate in this year’s Youth Speaks contest, held at Aldwickbury Park Golf Club. The range of topics debated could not have been wider nor the debates more spirited.

In the intermediate class Aldwickbury Independent School had two teams competing against single entries from Beechwood Park Preparatory, Sir John Lawes School and St George’s School. Topics debated included ‘AI has the capacity to be more creative than humans,’ ‘VAR makes sports more joyous,’ but it was St George’s team with ‘Co-education is better than single sex education for students’ that helped them to earn the winners’ cup.

Subjects chosen by the teams competing at senior level included ‘Land development should take precedence over preservation,’ ‘The benefits system does more harm than good,’ but it was ‘Religion has created more problems than it had solved’ that brought a close victory to one of the St George’s teams.

The contest’s judges were Suheil Shahryar, chair of Harpenden’s UN group, and Mike Greensmith, president of Harpenden Village Rotary Club. Colin Robinson was, as usual, responsible for probing the teams.

Parents and teachers attending took great pride in their children’s performances. ‘Given the quality in debate and the way these children conducted themselves, we can see that the future looks bright in their care,’ was none of the comments.