‘Well done!’ to Dromore High’s Ellen and Andrew

Ellen Woods recently took part in the Young Farmers’ Annual Debating Competition.

She and two others, Jenny Cromie and Emma Martin, competed against 12 other teams of three in the 16-18 age group and came second.

The week before, Ellen also competed in the heats in Saintfield against 72 other debating teams and got through to the finals in Omagh Grammar School.

When the teams arrive at each competition they get given their topic and 30 minutes to prepare their debate.

The topic for the first heat was ‘Do you think the death penalty should be abolished?’, and the topic debated at the final was ‘Do you think that you should buy locally produced food?’

Ellen has competed in this event for three years in a row, doing exceptionally well each year.

Another Dromore High School pupil, Andrew Sleator, took part in the Young Farmers’ Presentation Demonstration and came in second.

In this competition participants are given 10 minutes to speak on a topic of their choice.

A school spokesperson said, “Events such as these help students improve upon their communication skills and develop confidence.”