Students from around the Island gathered at Bermuda College to compete in the 19th Annual Victoria Cox Memorial Senior and Middle School Debate Tournament.

Sixteen teams of three members each – separated into middle and senior school divisions – contended for the championship title on Saturday, first participating in a prepared debate on the motion "This house believes that education in the western world should be a privilege not a right".

Teams which prevailed in the prepared round then had to argue on an impromptu motion with only one hour to structure their arguments before going into battle.

The Saltus team of Jacari Bimmer-Landy, Ellisse Johnston and Nicholas Rinehimer won the Senior School division while Ryan Robb, Joshua Snelling and Azaria Smith took home the Middle School trophy for Warwick Academy.

The top individual debaters at Senior and middle school levels respectively, were Jacari Brimmer-Landy, and Miles Cave, both of Saltus.

The tournament, run by the Bermuda Junior Service League and Bermuda Debate Society, was launched 19 years ago with the intent of providing a forum where students in Bermuda could compete in a non-sporting event.

For more information, visit the Bermuda Junior Service League at www.bjsl.bm or the Bermuda Debate Society at www.debate.bm.