The Island?s best young debaters will take to the stage today for the first stage of an annual competition.

Twenty four children from ten schools will battle it out in the preliminary round of the Minister?s Debate Challenge at the new Berkeley Institute. Those who make the grade will compete in the semi-finals tomorrow and the finals on Saturday.

Organiser Gladstone Thompson, headteacher of Southampton Glebe Primary School, said: ?We invite the general public to come along. The debate is very entertaining.

?It allows the students to become critical thinkers. They have the opportunity to think on their feet and it makes them more confident as speakers. These students have been practising for about a month-and-a-half and they are doing it in their spare time. ?

This is the second year the competition has been held. The schools taking part this year are Berkeley Institute, CedarBridge Academy, Whitney Institute Middle School, Sandys Secondary Middle School, Clearwater Middle School, Dellwood Middle School, Gilbert Institute, St. George?s Preparatory, West Pembroke Primary and West End Primary.