Three visiting teams from Ashton Sixth Form College, Winstanley College and Congleton High School went head to head with the Loreto College debating team in front of judges from industry and academia.

In the first round, Jake Goodman and Iman Adan narrowly lost to the team from old rivals Ashton in a debate inspired by the recent phone hacking scandal, ‘The British press requires tougher regulation.’ Winstanley were the eventual winners of the evening after a gripping and fiery final and will now go on to the Regional Finals next year.

 

The judges praised the high standard of speaking thoughout, and all the teams performed passionately. The 80 strong audience kept up the pressure, asking questions and challenging the speakers from the floor.

 

Ms Tattersall who runs the college Debating Club praised the efforts of the speakers. She said: “Our debating team has worked incredibly hard as usual, getting to grips with some very topical issues. As ever, we are very proud of them and their courage in arguing their case against excellent opposition, and standing up to the judges’ grilling.”