Last night (Friday 1st March), the Annual Michael Fabricant & Arthur Price of England Schools Speaking Competition, which is run on Parliamentary lines, was held in the Guildhall in Lichfield with Michael Fabricant playing the rôle of Mr Speaker.

Michael Fabricant says “This marked the 30th Anniversary of the start of the Competition when in 1994 John Price, the then Chairman and Managing Director of Arthur Price of England provided and engraved the cups for the first time.  It has been a Lichfield tradition ever since with his son, Simon, carrying on his father’s tradition.

“The motion being debated this year was ‘That this House believes the UK should aim for a cashless society’.  Four schools took part.  The Friary, King Edward VIth, and Lichfield Cathedral School who all argued against the motion, while the Erasmus Darwin Academy supported the motion.

“Each team had to present their arguments and one from each team had to answer two questions from the judges.

“The standard was incredibly high this year and I did not envy the four judges their task.

“But at the end, they decided that Lichfield Cathedral School should win the overall best team prize and Charlie Elwell from King Edward VI School won the best overall speaker award.

“Personally, I thought all of them were brilliant, presented their arguments well and with good humour in front of a packed audience in the Guildhall.  All the winners will get to keep their magnificent cups which were donated by and will be engraved by Arthur Price of England.  The timekeeping was organised by the Rotary Club of Lichfield Saint Chad.”

The winners with (back row l to r) Mace Bearer Richard Hunt, Michael Fabricant, Charlie Elwell (overall winner from King Edward VI School), Jessica Murphy, Isla Brennan, and Charlotte Mills (the winning team from Lichfield Cathedral School), and Simon Price who was also a judge; and (front row l to r) three judges Sue Power (President of the Rotary Club, Cllr Ann Hughes (Mayor of Lichfield), Adam Burns-Mace (Sheriff of Lichfield), and Tony Briggs (Town Clerk)

Photographs by Robert Yardley Photography