Bishop Vesey's Grammar School was crowned the winning team on Thursday March 9th following impressive performances from Sophie Lloyd and Nickeal Sidhu – pipping last year's winners Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls, who were represented by Hanifa Alia and Sophie's twin sister Emma, who came runners-up.

The panel of judges included Pam Collins, president of Sutton Coldfield Speakers' Club, Ernie Murray, clerk to the trustees of Sutton Coldfield Charitable Trust, and the Observer's editor, Gary Phelps.

In her opening address, Maggie Shackleton, headteacher at Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls, said it was "a real joy and privilege" to be host the event and congratulated everyone who took part.

They included pupils from The Arthur Terry School, Bishop Vesey's Grammar School, Bishop Walsh Catholic School, Fairfax School, John Willmott School, Plantsbrook School, Sutton Coldfield College and Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls.

Sutton Coldfield MP Andrew Mitchell, who chaired the debate, said he has "enormous respect" for those taking part.

Mr Mitchell said: "I am delighted to be here and would like to express my gratitude to the school for organising it so well.

"One of the key skills in life is to be able to stand up, put forward your case and express yourself.

"I have watched with great pride, over the last 15 years, pupils go on and achieve great things. I have enormous respect and gratitude for everyone taking part."

The first round motions debated by opposing schools were:-

• Fairfax School (Prerna Acharya and Lucy Wood) v Sutton Coldfield College (Justin Hurlock and Evie Millward) – 'We should bring back National Service in the UK'.

• John Willmott School (Samuel Brown and Sokheng Finch) v Bishop Walsh Catholic School (Thomas Lafferty and Katie Veal) – 'We should introduce a 100 per cent inheritance tax'.

• Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls (Hanifa Alia and Emma Lloyd) v Plantsbrook School (Jack Purcell-Burrows and Marshall Tisdale) – 'State funding of the arts is essential for a civilised society'.

• The Arthur Terry School (Hannah Cook and Leah Fennell) v Bishop Vesey's Grammar School (Sophie Lloyd and Nickeal Sidhu) – 'Voting should be made compulsory'.

The first round was followed by a second round of debates on unseen motions which the teams had to prepare for against the clock. They were:-

• Plantsbrook v John Willmott – 'Democracy is a failed system'
• Bishop Vesey v Fairfax – 'The negative aspects of social media outweigh the benefits'
• Sutton Coldfield College v Arthur Terry – 'Those working in essential services should not be allowed to go on strike'
• Bishop Walsh v Sutton Girls – 'Attendance at school should be made optional'

Observer editor and judge Gary Phelps hailed the quality of this year's speakers and debates on what was a "remarkable night".

"It genuinely gets better every year and it genuinely gets harder every year," he said.

"This year is the hardest one we've ever had to do. It shows how lucky we are in Sutton to have the quality of schools and education that we have. It is a testament to the quality of the teaching, families, pupils and parents.

"It has been a remarkable night. The competition is an event that the Observer is very proud to be involved with and it has become an important part of Sutton's calendar."

Read more at http://www.suttoncoldfieldobserver.co.uk/pupils-take-centre-stage-in-2017-royal-sutton-coldfield-schools-parliamentary-debating-competition/story-30194708-detail/story.html#RQD0ofRwXOXFLm9R.99