MONTEGO BAY, St James – Cornwall College is the western regional champion in the Jamaica Information Service/Jamaica Public Service Company-sponsored Heritage Debate Competition, having defeated Montego Bay High School in an exciting final held recently at that high school’s auditorium.

Arguing the moot, “Be it resolved that National Hero, Right Excellent Norman Manley was more renowned for his legal than his political skills”, the two teams locked horns in a healthy exchange of views and counter views, revealing a reservoir of information and historical facts on the contributions of the National Hero to the building of modern-day Jamaica.

The two teams, one proposing and the other opposing, did not fail to entertain, educate and remind participants of the country’s rich national heritage, in the end walking away with attractive prizes such as cellular phones, plaques, trophies, book vouchers, and a host of other awards.

Chief Judge Joan Johnson, who is a lecturer at the Montego Bay Community College, had warm words of commendation for the teams, noting that the overall presentations were very good.

“It was very clear that great research went into the presentations and that both teams did a lot of work in preparing for this exercise here and I would like to congratulate you both. What was also noticeable, apart from the preparations . was the teamwork and team spirit that was demonstrated; that was truly commendable. I implore you all to continue on this path,” Johnson urged.

Andre Bernard of Cornwall College was judged the best debater of the final. This was the third time he was winning the award since the competition commenced during the first week of October.

Captain of the winning team, Deroi Brown said that his team was pleased to have participated in the competition and that the students had dedicated much time in preparing for the matches.

“This has been a tremendous learning process for all of us and we have certainly become a better team. We have grown and have learnt to analyse better and have learnt to make our arguments more cohesive,” Deroi said.

Eight high schools from Hanover, St James and Westmoreland, participated in this year’s competition, which was organised by the JIS Montego Bay Regional Office.

Similar competitions are being held among schools in regions served by the JIS in Ocho Rios, Portland, Mandeville, May Pen and Kingston. The main objectives of the annual heritage debate are: to develop students’ debating and research skills; to develop a greater awareness of Jamaica’s heritage and to engender a sense of nationalism among students.