Local young people were given the chance to demonstrate their public speaking skills as the Youth Speaks competition returned to Warwick.

Hosted by Warwick Rotary Club the competition for Intermediate scholars (11 -13) returned last week having been postponed due to Covid.

The event saws teams from Warwick School and Kings Hill School take part, with each team of three members given 15 minutes to present the case for a topic of their choosing.

Kings High went first arguing: "This house believes developed countries are morally obliged to fight climate change."

Followed by Warwick School with: "Animals should not be allowed to become extinct".

The annual event gives young people a chance to voice their opinions on topics they feel strongly about and demands significant research, knowledge and the confidence to present arguments clearly and concisely.

Announcing the team from Warwick School as the winners, head judge Rotarian Jon Wassall commented that all the teams were "winners' in that learning how to speak in public would give everyone and advantage in life.

"Everyone had prepared well, done their research and engaged with the audience," he said.

"The results had been very close. Thanks were also due to parents and teachers who supported them through the preparation process."

Both winners and runner up teams received book tokens from Warwick Books, and all contestants received a certificate of participation.

Congratulating them Mr Wassall said he was impressed by the quality of the presentations and wished the contestants well in their future careers.

The senior competition was held on February 2 and was won by Princethorpe College.