PUPILS from West Somerset's three middle schools got on their soap boxes for a contest that gave them the chance to air their views.

Six teams took part in the annual Rotary Club of Minehead Youth Speaks competition, which was held at Danesfield Middle School in Williton.

The teams - consisting of a chairman, main speaker and proposer of thanks - were each given ten minutes to present their views on issues relevant to them.

And a team from Danesfield that included Solomon Olsen in the chair, Georgina Fahey as the main speaker and Oliver Cole bringing the presentation to a close, won the day with the topic, 'Do girls get a sporting chance?'.

A team from Minehead Middle School - Heidi Atkins, Joseph Lintern and Sarah Scyner - took the runners-up place.

Joseph also took the award for the best speaker for his thought provoking speech titled 'Are we over protecting our children?'.

The winners and runners-up will now go through to the Rotary district semi-final at the end of February, which also be held at Danesfield.

Barrie Harban, president of the Rotary Club of Minehead, said: "I stand in awe of these students.

"The clarity, construction, persuasiveness and humour in their presentations were remarkable.

"All the teams were winners in my book."

Mr Harban is pictured with Danesfield winning trio Solomon Olsen, Georgina Fahey and Oliver Cole and best speaker Joseph Lintern.

Photo: Steve Guscott