IT was a proud moment for students and staff of the St Ann-based Brown’s Town High School last Wednesday when the debate team defeated St Mary High in the finals of the Area Two Police debate competition.

Brown’s Town High, St Mary High and Titchfield High battled at the regional level after topping their respective zones at the parish level. At the end of the competition, Brown’s Town High emerged champions after successfully proposing that ‘capital punishment should be reintroduced to help curtail the high murder rate in Jamaica’.

Twenty-two schools from St Ann, St Mary and Portland entered the competition.

Principal of the winning school, Albert Thomas, who spoke at the finals which was held at the Sandals Ochi Beach Resort, said having defeated schools such as St Mary, Titchfield and Ocho Rios High, the spirits of students have been boosted.

“We are indeed grateful for the exposure that it has given to our students and, by extension, our institutions,” Thomas said, adding that the competition was very beneficial to the students who participated.

“The three students from Brown’s Town High who I see now, they are not the same students I saw last October. They are more confident, bolder,” he continued.

Brown’s Town High advanced to the semi-finals at the parish level after one of the schools which had advanced could not continue in the competition. The team of Christina Maxwell, Nicole Brown and Alex Tomlinson were ecstatic about their victory.

“Honestly, I feel really good. We have been coming from far in this competition and I am elated to know [that] we emerged winners,” Maxwell, the team’s first speaker, told the Jamaica Observer North East.

“This debate, wow! It has helped me so much, not only with vocabulary, but self-esteem and being able to represent my school proudly,” Brown, the second speaker, said.

Tomlinson, who was awarded the most outstanding male speaker for the competition and the best speaker for the final match, was also happy for the victory.

“It is truly a wonderful experience; I am blessed to be a part of this competition. I am a proud young man and I am truly honoured to make my school proud,” he said.

Third place Titchfield High, in addition to trophies, received a cash prize of $20,000 from Assistant Commissioner of Police Fitz Bailey and passes to Dolphin Cove.

Second place St Mary High was awarded trophies along with $30,000 from National Security Employees Cooperative Credit Union. They also received passes to Mystic Mountain.

Brown’s Town High walked away with trophies including the championship trophy and part scholarships to the Moneague College. They also received a cash prize of $50,000 from the Rebel Salute Foundation. The team also received full-packaged passes to Mystic Mountain.