FOUR Craven schools competed in this year's Youth Speaks competition.

Promoted by Rotary International, the competition is designed to support and encourage the development of effective communication skills.

This year's contest was hosted at Skipton's Ermysted's Grammar School, whose pupils were joined by teams from Giggleswick, South Craven, and Upper Wharfedale.

Each team comprised three members, who took on a separate role - chairman, speaker or vote of thanks - and each had to speak for a specified time on a subject of their choice.

In the intermediate section, top honours went to the South Craven School side, who spoke about Technology Takeover, and team member Elliot Whitehead took the award for best intermediate speaker.

Other members of the team were chairman Luke Dyson and vote of thanks Isaac Broughton.

The senior winners were the Giggleswick School side, comprising Jacob Lister, Benedict Willacy and Samantha Pye, who questioned whether feminism had gone too far.

And Benedict was judged the best senior speaker by a panel comprising local professionals and moderator Denise Adlard, from Bradford Speakers Club.

The prizes were presented by the Skipton mayor John Dawson, who said the high standard of the speeches reflected the excellent quality of education in the area.

The winners will now go through to the next round of the competition in York on Friday, March 20.

Other teams taking part were: intermediate: Upper Wharfedale (freedom of speech) - James Heseltine, Adrian Chowdhury, Chris Heseltine; South Craven (millennium children) - Matilda Osborne, Emily Cramby, Georgia Cramby; Ermysted's (lucid dreaming) - Matthew Lister, Alastair Horn and Mark Wycherley.

Senior: Ermysted's (revolution) - Charlie Allen, Sam Fletcher, Sam Ellwood; Ermysted's (terrorism) - Nick Meadowcroft-Lunn, Paul Figg and Faizan Ismail; Giggleswick (Charlie Hebdo) - Emma Sharp, Charles Allison and Isaac Ladds.