On Saturday, November 17th, eight middle school teams and six high school teams from across the Island competed in the 23rd Annual Bermuda National Debate competition at Saltus Grammar School.Four teams represented Bermuda High School with two teams competing at the middle school level and two teams competing at the high school level.The middle school motion for debate was “This House would ban the sale of sweetened beverages larger than sixteen ounces”, and the high school motion was “This House would make vaccinations mandatory”.Coached by Harvey Cornish and representing BHS at the high school level were International Bacculaurate students Megan Bower, Connie Campbell, and Lara Hetzel on Team A; and IB students Brittney Ferrera, Wendy Tuxworth, and Rachel Daly on Team B.Team A won one out of the three rounds and team B won two out of the three rounds.While neither team advanced to the final, Lara Hetzel placed first overall in the Outstanding speaker category and Megan Bower placed third.After three rounds of debate, including an impromptu round where students only had one hour in isolation to prepare speeches for a motion they had never seen before, both BHS middle school teams emerged as finalists for the championship round.BHS A team, made up of Year 9 students Hailey Quig, Megan Sutcliffe, and Ashleigh Tomkins scored unanimous wins against TN Tatem, Mount Saint Agnes Academy B team, and Saltus Grammar.Year 9 student Lillian Griffiths, Year 8 student Brianna Correia, and Year 7 student Charlotte Frumkin achieved success as the BHS B team winning their rounds against Warwick Teams A and B as well as Mount Saint Agnes Team A.It was an all BHS middle school final as the two teams faced off to argue the prepared motion.BHS A argued for the motion, while BHS B argued against, and while both teams presented a “spirited” and “lively” debate, there could be only one winner.In a unanimous decision, the judges declared the BHS A team the victors.Hailey Quig, Megan Sutcliffe and Ashleigh Tomkins reclaimed the Middle School Debate Champions title and coach Melissa Brough received the Middle School Coach’s award.In the Outstanding Speakers Category, Hailey Quig placed third overall, Lillian Griffiths placed second overall, and Megan Sutcliffe placed first overall for the second year in a row.