Students from The Hazeley Academy have been crowned champions of the Milton Keynes Schools Parliamentary Debate Competition 2022.
The long-running event is organised by the Milton Keynes MPs Iain Stewart and Ben Everitt and gives young people from across the city the opportunity to experience political debate.
The Hazeley Academy went up against The Radcliffe School in the final in the Grand Committee Room in the House Of Commons on Thursday evening (15th December) as they debated the role of the Monarchy.
Milton Keynes College, the Lord Grey Academy, Shenley Brook End, Walton High, Oakgrove, Kent's Hill Park and St Paul's Catholic School had all taken part in the two previous rounds of the competition with debates on topics including banning smoking, the UK’s voting system and capital punishment.
The debates were chaired by a member of the MPs' office and judged by Michelle Smyth, from the Open University, Cllr Amanda Marlow, the Mayor of Milton Keynes, Julie Mills, Chair of Women Leaders UK and former CEO of Milton Keynes College, Sean Rose, Policy Executive at Milton Keynes Chamber of Commerce, and Prayksha and Leon, Milton Keynes' Members Of Youth Parliament.
Ben Everitt, the MP for Milton Keynes North, said: “Obviously I want to offer a huge congratulations to Hazeley for winning this year’s competition, but I also want to say well done to every single student who took part.
“It’s not easy to stand up and debate, it takes a lot of confidence and what we’ve seen from these high-quality debates is that Milton Keynes definitely has a bright future.”
Iain Stewart, the MP for Milton Keynes South, commented: “I was delighted to host the final of the Parliamentary Schools Debate Competition in the Houses of Parliament again, it is something that I look forward to every year.
“The debate about the Monarchy between Hazeley and Radcliffe was incredible, one of the best ones to date. Congratulations to Hazeley on winning the competition!
“I would also like to thank the judges who gave up their time to make the competition possible.”
Students and staff from schools who had participated earlier in the competition were also invited to Westminster for the grand final and were given a tour by Ben Everitt MP, including a stop in the House Of Commons chamber itself, following the event.
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