A TEAM of five talented speakers have reached the finals of a national debating competition.
Students from Durham Johnston School, in Durham City, will compete with teams from seven other UK schools at the Royal Society of Medicine in London between Friday, July 3 and Sunday, July 5.
Laura Armitage, Ally Beckett, Kate Gibson, Davy Mains and Jenna Cave will represent the North East at the Institute of Ideas and Pfizer Debating Matters Competition.
The winners of this competition - which nearly 200 British schools entered - will debate the champions of the Indian version.
The competitors will be challenged by top-name judges, including the broadcaster Anita Anand and the deputy editor of the London Evening Standard, Sarah Sands.
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