After a nail-biting finish, the York Castle High School emerged winners of the 2016 St Ann Police Debate Competition. The York Castle team defeated Ferncourt High in the final held at the Riu Hotel in Mammee Bay on Monday, May 2.

The team of Danmar Clarke, Fitzroy Wickham and Jaya Buchanan Kamoze opposed the moot ‘Jamaica’s economic prosperity lies in a regulated marijuana industry and not in the tourism industry.’

The team of Brianna Russell, Hugeoleen White and Kalaycia Shippy proposed the moot and, while both teams brought sound arguments, at the end of it all, York Castle won by 50 points.

An excited captain of York Castle, Danmar Clarke, said the team was and is always motivated by the school’s motto.

“In all we do, we remember ‘Nil Sine Magno Laboure’: nothing is achieved without hard work,” Clarke said with assured passion.

The York Castle debate team was coached by Nickashe Hardware, while Jade Cross and Marsha Grant-Palmer coached the Ferncourt team.

The final teams along with Marcus Garvey Technical High School, the third-place finisher, received prizes from Mystic Mountain, Chukka Caribbean, First Regional Corporative Credit Union, Dophin Cove, and Riu.

York Castle will now go on to represent St Ann in the Area Two Police high school debate competition

Superintendent of Police in charge of St Ann, Wayne Cameron, said the debate was necessary to strengthen the partnership between the police and schools.

“It is necessary at this time because since I’ve been here, we have crimes coming out of our high schools,” he said, adding that these include reports of murder and sexual assault.

Superintendent Cameron said the police do not have the resources to put a school resource officer in every school and so whatever way the police can partner with the schools is necessary.

Individuals who attended the finals on Monday lauded the efforts of the police to strengthen its relationship with the schools and, by extension, the youth of the parish.