WHEN it comes to voicing their opinion, the young people of Bolton St Catherine’s Academy do it eloquently and persuasively.

And students used those skills to their advantage when they took part in Bolton Rotary Club’s Youth Speaks Competition.

So impressed were judges they chose all three teams to go through to the regional finals rather than just two.

Pupils and students formed three teams and staged debates on “Bullying: The plague of the 21st century”; “Do Video Games Cause Violence in Society?”; and “Should footballers be knighted?”.

Beverley Hill, senior teacher and one of the organisers, said: “All groups gave absolutely amazing performances and deserve massive congratulations. We have only had two weeks to prepare for this competition and all groups were outstanding.”

The competition gave young people a chance to study a topic within a limited time, experience impartial feedback and assessment of their performance by experienced adjudicators — as well as enjoy spending time together and practising high standards of expression, presentation and appearance.