A DEBATE on the death penalty earned students from Wirral Grammar School for Girls a place in the semi-final of a Wirral-wide compeition.

Ten teams took part in the Wirral intermediate and senior sections of the Birkenhead Rotary Club competition, which also included teams from Woodchurch High School, Birkenhead School and Birkenhead Sixth Form College.

An extremely diverse range of subjects included presentations on the Chinese government's 'one child' policy and the question of whether one’s school days really are the best days of one's life – referring particularly to girls' education and drawing attention to the plight of girls in many parts of the world who are denied access to any form of education.

Chair of judges Glyn Môn Hughes said: "I was impressed by the way all teams had researched their subject areas thoroughly, spoke convincingly, often without notes, and could answer questions from the audience confidently and eloquently.

"I wish the winning team every success in the next round of the competition but both I and my fellow judges feel confident that any one of the teams who spoke this evening could easily find their way through to the competition final."

One of the local competition organisers, Norman Jones added: "Although Birkenhead Sixth Form College Team performed extremely well in the District Final held in Wrexham, it was the Wirral Grammar School for Girls team that now go through to the semi final of Youth Speaks."