Last week Batley was delighted to host The Great Debate on behalf of the Historical Association. Mrs Wilby, the Assistant Headteacher at Batley Girls' High School, planned the event superbly well and the judging panel came from the universities of Huddersfield, Leeds and Newcastle. It was an extremely tough contest to judge with truly fantastic presentations from young people from Batley Grammar School, Batley Girls' High School and Upper Batley High School.

Each young person taking part selected a particular focus from the local history of Batley which could be a business, a person or a particular point in time. They carried out thorough research and then presented their case as to why they felt this event/person/place should be remembered in history.

It was a truly fascinating morning and we are all incredibly proud of all our young people and their superb contributions to the debate. The winner of the Batley heat was Lindsay from Batley Girls' High School and she goes through to the national finals. Well done to everyone involved.

Teaching our young people about the crucial life skills of discussion and debate have never been more important and their mature, intelligent and articulate presentations were absolutely brilliant to hear. Well done to everyone involved and good luck to Lindsay for the national finals.