THREE schools from West Devon recently took part in the annual Youth Speaks competition, staged by Tavistock Rotary Club. Lifton Primary School, Kelly College and Tavistock College entered into the categories for junior, intermediate and seniors for the public speaking contests held at Kelly College. The juniors were represented by two teams of pupils from Lifton Primary School who 'excelled' in their performance. No other schools took part in this category due to other commitments. The winning team's subject matter was 'Our role in a dying world' spoken by Rhys Hughes and supported by Sam Horn and Mary Bray. A close second was Bradley Worth on 'animal testing' supported by Marie Townsend and Hayley Freeston. The intermediate section was won by Tavistock College whose subject matter was 'What makes a good speech'. The speaker was Matthew Mason supported by Benedict Evens and Jack Hughes. Second was the team for Kelly College on the subject 'Capital punishment should not be reintroduced' — the speaker was Emily Hawkings supported by Sarah Heracleous and Harriett Sylvestor. Six teams entered into the senior section with some novel topics including 'compulsory voting', 'art form', 'the evolution of man', and 'supermarkets'. The two winning teams were both from Tavistock College . 'The Perfect Biscuit', presented by Tom Rodgers, was supported by Jack Shepherd and Adam Browner, and 'Silly old English language' presented by George Rodgers, was supported by Josh Stephens and Charlie Hubbard. The evening was enjoyed by everyone and Tavistock Rotary Club expressed thanks to Kelly College for the venue, the participants and their coaches. The four winning teams went into the area competition at Callington on Tuesday.