Debaters Reach STV Independence Referendum National Final
S6 pupils Lesley Nicholson and Justine McCluskey triumphed in the regional round of the STV Independence referendum debate and have booked their place in the national grand final.
The event which took place at Discovery Point on Tuesday 5th November saw the girls see off stiff competition from Madras College and Blairgowrie High School to rightfully earn their place in the final. The first debate centred around the motion of “Scotland has more in common with other small nations than England” where the girls argued in favour of this motion. After a tough debate the girls then answered some tough questions from the judges and provided answers that Alex Salmond himself would have been proud of.
After winning this debate against Madras the girls then faced Blairgowrie High School arguing the referendum question itself which is “Scotland should become an Independent country”, where once again they argued in favour of the motion. Again it was a tough debate and they were asked questions that even the Yes Campaign would have found difficult to answer. With Justine focusing on the economic impact of an independent Scotland would have and Lesley going for the soccer punch of reaching the hearts and minds of the Scottish people in her arguments the girls were once again announced the winners and are set for the national final which will take place on the 22nd March 2014 at the STV television studios in Glasgow.
After excellent performances from both pupils it was no surprise to all involved that Lesley was announced as the winner for best consistent individual performance of the day. Both girls did extremely well and are now looking forward to taking on the other regional winners in the grand final.
A big congratulations to both Justine and Lesley who not only did themselves proud but are also excellent role models and representatives of Grove Academy.