Two Clydebank high school pupils are celebrating after being crowned winners of an esteemed public speaking competition.

Beth Dalrymple and Katie Orr, third-year students at St Peter the Apostle High School, took home the top prize at this year’s prestigious Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) contest after edging out teams from The Royal High School, Edinburgh, and Shawlands Academy from Glasgow in the final at Parliament House in the capital.

The topic for the final was: “The most pressing equality issue in Scotland today is....  to address it I would....”

Judging the finalists were Ruth Charteris, KC, Solicitor General for Scotland, Scott Pattison, Sheriff and temporary High Court Judge, and Lesslie Young, Chief Executive, Epilepsy Scotland. 

And they were each hugely impressed by the quality of the speaking on show.

But in the end, it was St Peter the Apostle who had the final say by coming out on top.

Presenting the trophy to the winners, the Solicitor General Ruth Charteris, KC, praised each school’s contribution to a hard-fought final.

She said: “Huge congratulations to Beth and Katie on their success. All those taking part provided excellent examples of public speaking.

“Each and every one of you should be incredibly proud of yourselves. You have made your schools proud and your families proud.

“It has been a pleasure to see pupils come together in the spirit of friendly competition to develop confidence in their public speaking skills while addressing important issues relating to diversity and equality.”

It’s the first time a school from the sheriffdom of North Strathclyde has triumphed in the long-running and popular competition.