A debate team from a school in west Dorset won their district finals - and are one round away from the national finals.

The Colfox Academy Senior Youth Speaks Team won their District 1200 final on Saturday, March 2.

In their final the team, made up of students from the school in Bridport, saw off strong opposition at the Kings of Wessex Academy in Cheddar, and they will now proceed to the ‘Cluster’ finals in Cardiff.

This stage was organised by several Rotary Districts working together, with the winning team in each age group in the Cluster finals then going on to the National Final.

The team had performed very well in earlier rounds at Bridport Town Hall and Beaminster School, which were organised by Bridport and Brit Valley Rotary Clubs respectively.

Rotary clubs have been organising the public speaking competition for years to young people, and this team competition sees groups of three deliver a 15-minute debate on a topic of their choice.

For each team, the chairperson welcomed the audience, introduced their speaker and chosen topic.

The proposer then puts forward arguments which are then countered by the opposer. The team then responds to a question from the audience after which the chairperson would close the debate.

The Rotary Club of Bridport wished the team every success for the next stage of the competition.