The team from Nether Stowe High School in Lichfield scooped the MICHAEL FABRICANT MP – ARTHUR PRICE OF ENGLAND Inter-Schools Parliamentary Speaking Competition held in the Guildhall in Lichfield on Friday night.

The School won the Team award and the Best Speaker award. The team members from Nether Stowe were Claire Sharrod, Gareth Walton and Philippa Barton. Gareth Walton also won the best overall speaker award.

The others schools taking part were Chase Terrace High School and Chasetown High School from the Burntwood area and The Friary School and The King Edward VI School from Lichfield – all the State High schools in the Lichfield Parliamentary constituency.

The competition was chaired by Nicholas Winterton MP, Deputy Speaker of Westminster Hall in the House of Commons and the judges included the Mayor (Cllr John Mercer), Sheriff (John Haggett), Chairman of Arthur Price of England (John Price OBE), and the President of St Chad’s Rotary Club (Paul Cooper).

Michael Fabricant says "This year it was a particularly difficult subject: whether to choose the young or the old for treatment under the NHS if a choice has to be made. The competitors tackled this head on with verve and vigour. They recognised that hard choices have to be made.

"The standard of debate was particularly high and competitors showed great speaking ability in front of a packed Guildhall. In his summing up, Nicholas Winterton said that the standard of speeches was higher than the average standard of debate nowadays in the House of Commons. I agree."