PERFORMANCE-enhancing drugs, zoos and sugary drinks came under the spotlight at the Rotary Club of Northwich’s Primary Youths Speaks competition.

Four schools entered the competition, with teams from The Grange Junior School coming first and third, and Antrobus St Mark’s Primary School in second place.

The other schools who took part were Barnton Primary School and Wincham Primary School.

A total of six teams entered, and presented topics including school life, performance-enhancing drugs, are zoos good or bad, should people be allowed to own second homes, should there be a ban on sugary drinks and E-Safety.

“Each presentation was well presented, and the audience showed their appreciation,” said a club spokesman.

“The adjudicators felt that once again the participants aged between nine and 10 had done amazingly well, and the level of their public speaking skill was excellent.”

The adjudicators offered some points of advice to the teams in general before announcing the top three.

“Each and every team are to be congratulated,” said Maureen Melville, one of the three adjudicators, who shared the judging with John Hill and John Allanach.

“It is daunting to stand in front of an audience, and they presented themselves and their topics without hesitation and with a bit of humour.

“They had clearly researched the topics and presented us with statistics to back up their discussion points.”

The event was well attended, with parents and grandparents there to support the children taking part.