Schools came together from across Windsor and Eton to compete in the local heat of the Rotary Youth Speaks competition.

They gathered at Jafar Hall, Eton College to speak on subjects close to their hearts in front of the Royal Borough's mayor Cllr Paul Lion.

St Edward’s Royal Free Ecumenical Middle School from Windsor got things under way at the start with a talk entitled Reality Check – What’s Gone Wrong with Today’s Television?

Next was St Edwards Royal Free School with Should violent sports and games be banned?

Windsor's Trevelyan Middle School's speaker Thomas Stapleton won best overall intermediate speaker prize with his presentation entitled Finding Your Voice. His team was chaired by Jack Arnold and James Miller gave the vote of thanks.

Trevelyan gave the winning talk in the intermediate section - entitled Best Days of Our Lives chaired by Louis Ogston with speaker Tallulah Kingsman and vote of thanks given by Jakob Truter.

All this year's senior teams were from Windsor Girls School - starting with What Effect Does Traditional Media Have on Young People? chaired by Holly Fazackerley with speaker Anna Foskett and vote of thanks from Rachael Grimmer.

This was followed by Are We Too Defensive? chaired by Daisy Willcock with speaker Abbie Jackson-Brench and vote of thanks from Millie Versoni.

To finish the evening off came a winning performance in the senior competition How is Young People's Mental Health Being Dealt With in the UK? This was chaired by Scarlett O'Shaughnessy with Lydia Sampson (winner of best speaker) and vote of thanks from Olatz Bulson-Roman.

David Knowles-Leak, chairman of the senior judges said: “Lydia’s ability to hold the audience’s attention, quoting easily absorbable facts, made this talk stand out from the other excellent performances.”

Jonathan Davey, junior vice president Windsor & Eton Rotary Club said: “When young people leave school and go searching for work, their qualifications will count for something but their ability to persuade someone to give them a break will count for so much more. Youth Speaks gives them the opportunity to practice their persuasive skills in a healthy, friendly but competitive environment. I love organising this event for Rotary and the young people of Windsor & Eton, it has purpose and meaning in the real world.”