Primary schools from across Swindon went head-to-head this week in a debating competition.

The White Horse Federation Debating Cup, involved seven Swindon schools and two from outside the town, was held at Swindon Borough Councils Civic Offices.

More than 60 pupils from the nine schools aged between 7 and 11 competed in the debate having to battle other schools in three separate rounds where they would be scored in each match to give them an overall tally.

The questions they had to debate included the banning of homework, the banning of cars in cities and whether the internet does more harm than good.

The debates were staged to highlight the positive engagement and interaction with their teams and other schools, and at the end of each match the two schools competing against one another would shake hands.

For the final match, the teams had a few special guests in the audience to perform in front of, including the Mayor of Swindon Coun Maureen Penny and leader of the council David Renard, along with other councillors.

The two finalists were Haydon Wick Primary School, who were ranked as the top rated team from the total tally they accumulated in the other rounds and their competitors were Drove Primary School.

After a very passionate and well argued debate, Haydon Wick were announced as the winners.

One pupil from Haydon Wick Primary School, said: “I found it really good, the experience of actually going into that room is exciting. It’s a good feeling having a debate because it’s really fun and enjoyable.”

Mayor of Swindon Maureen Penny said: “Just coming into the Civic Offices and seeing where the debates take place is quite strong in children minds and it shows as a lot of their parents will remember coming in and going into the council chamber.

“We are seeing them grow in this time on a more formal basis and seeing the growth of the children understanding what it is to come into somewhere official and to do the debate in public.”

David Renard said: “It's a great opportunity for young people to understand how democratic debates take place and compose their arguments both for and against on a range of topics."

This was the first time the multi-academy trust had held a debating challenge and collaborated with award-winning charity Debate Mate, which is an international educational charity.

Cindy Ma, executive programme director at Debate Mate, said: “We are dedicated to building skills in young people from deprived areas, we know that debating often isn’t accessible to students from all backgrounds and our aim is to widen access so that this students can reap the rewards.”