TALKATIVE teenagers who shattered the silence of Sedgefield Community College's library have been rewarded for having the gift of the gab.

Fraser Edwards, Niall Cheema, Michael Dyson and Amy Sadler represented the school in a public speaking contest held in the library earlier this month.

All aged 14, the team was one of the youngest to take part in The Rotary Club's annual debating contest, Youth Speaks, for 14 to 17-year-olds.

The team was praised by judges, who awarded the pupils the district cup, presented by Sedgefield Town Mayor Maxine Robinson, and they will go on to the national finals this summer.

Fraser, who gave the group's main speech, entitled The Rag Trade Rules, said: "We chose a subject to speak on, researched it and prepared a presentation about how fashion defines us and argued that clothes don't make a man or woman."

They also talked about the ethics of using cheap overseas labour to produce clothing and had to think on their feet to respond to questions from the audience.

Estelle Spring, learning resource manager at the school, said: "The school is extremely proud of their efforts and achievement. This was a new event for us to take part in, so they did really well and we hope pupils will get more involved in debating and public speaking in the future.

"It helps build their confidence, gives them assurance that they can speak on any subject to anyone, will give them an understanding of controversial issues and encourage them to be open minded."