The Otago Girls' High School first debating team competed in the finals of the Dunedin Schools' Debating Competition at Kavanagh College on Wednesday night.

For Anna Dawes and Sabrina Swerdloff, these debates would be their last in school colours, capping off five years of excellent service. In combination with Brynn McBurney, the OGHS1 team has been consistently one of the strongest teams of the competition, and they deserved their position alongside Columba College in the final.

After accounting for Kavanagh College in the semi-final, Sabrina, Anna and Bryn argued passionately in the final for the limitation of free speech in the context of hate crimes, suggesting that only rational, logical discourse ought to be allowed in the public sphere. Although they narrowly lost to a brilliant team from Columba College, all three speakers should be proud of their achievements and the way they performed in the final.Special congratulations goes to Sabrina Swerdloff, who was named the top speaker of the competition, Anna Dawes who was named fourth best speaker, and Brynn McBurney, who was named eighth best speaker. As a member of the NZ Schools' Debating team, Sabrina Swerdloff must surely be considered one of the best young debaters in the world and proved once again in the final that she is a force to be reckoned with. Anna Dawes is to be particularly thanked for the work she has done with the junior debating team, demonstrating intelligence and maturity beyond her years.