There were screams of joy on Thursday when the debating team of the St George’s High School was adjudged the winner of the regional leg of the JOF Haynes Debating Competition.

The team managed to overcome stiff competition from the team from the Christ Church Secondary School in a highly contested final. It was deemed a historic win for St George’s since it is the first time the school came out on top in the competition.

The Fourth Form students, Ezra Gibson, the first speaker; Leah De Arella, the second speaker; and Amberly Amernauth, the third speaker, had been impressive throughout the competition, school teacher Latoya Rodrigues told the Guyana Chronicle. She said the business stream students worked tirelessly during their preparations for the debates.

The schools were placed in different categories according to the grade of the schools and thus far, St Georges managed to overcome teams from St Winifreds, Caramel Secondary, Houston Secondary and the Cummings Lodge Secondary school.

The dedicated and disciplined team from St Georges High has been commended for their performances by many and according to the teachers of the school, their success through the competition lifted the spirit of the student population of the city school. The win certainly took their spirits even higher, the teachers noted.

Rodrigues said that the fact that the team made it to the finals speaks about the changing fortunes of the school. She expressed hope that the school maintains the performance in other areas of learning.