SOUTH Craven School students are gaining an enviable reputation for making their voice heard.

Following on from previous success in the Youth Speaks contest, organised by Skipton Rotary Club, a new team from the school's year nine has demonstrated its flair for public speaking.

They made it to the Regional Final Stage 2 at Uppingham Community College. They were one of six teams taking part, having battled through two earlier rounds at Ermysted’s School and Poppleton Road School in York.

A spokesman for South Craven said: "Our students' topic for debate was 'Millennium Children'. Having been born at the turn of the new century, the team of Emily Cramby, Matilda Osborne and Sam Burles looked at the differences in the lives of children, born at the same time, in other cultures and countries.

"Emily talked about Alejandra and Charles from East Africa, who had been child soldiers for the warlord Joseph Kony, and how their lives and futures differed so much from hers.

"At the end, our team was placed second after students from the Headland School, Bridlington, but their teacher Sara Jones was full of praise for our students and thrilled that the team had progressed so far."