Debating success for Inverness pupils
Two pupils from Inverness Royal Academy have emerged as the worthy winners of the 2016 National Schools Gaelic Debate competition. The final, which took place last night at the Scottish Parliament, was between teams from Inverness Royal Academy and Glasgow Gaelic School. A great evening of debating was held on the topic given by the organisers that Donald Trump is exactly what the world needs at this time. Humour was plentiful with excellent research and fantastic debating skills on display.
Eilidh MacPhee and Alix Aburn are pupils at Inverness Royal Academy and they fought off competition from nineteen other teams to reach the final stages. Eilidh was also the worthy recipient of the BBC Shield for Best Speaker. Their competition in the final, Sioban Brady and Eilidh Miller from Glasgow Gaelic School were excellent and made it a very tough decisions for this year's judges; Matthew MacIver, Christina Walker and Angus MacDonald.
Councillor Hamish Fraser, Chairperson of Highland Council Gaelic Implementation Group said: “This is a massive achievement for the pupils especially as the standard to debate was exceedingly high.”
He continued: “National events of this calibre allow and provide the opportunity for young people who learn and study Gaelic to showcase and excel both their linguistic and debating skills. I believe that these young people will be confident decision making citizens of the future.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Lochaber High School team for also doing so well in reaching the semi-finals.”
The final can still be heard on the BBC's Iplayer.