A TEAM of pupils from Magdalen College School has triumphed in a national debating competition.

The pupils beat 11 other schools from across the UK at the final of the Debating Matters competition in London last weekend.

After three days of intense debate from Friday to Sunday the Magdalen College School team came out on top, with pupil Tom Gould crowned best individual debater.

The team prepared for more than a month for the debate and posed the arguments that the UK should introduce a sugar tax and should pay reparations for the slave trade.

In the semi-final they argued humanity should fear advances in artificial intelligence and in the final defeated Hutton Church of England Grammar School from Preston in Lancashire by arguing there should not be limits on free speech on social media.

Teacher and debate coach Dr James Panton said: "My kids went further than I'd imagined they could and are obviously delighted.

"But more than that, the whole weekend is a testament to what we can do with smart young kids when we're willing to push them to take themselves seriously.

"They’ve learnt more this weekend than in the preceding 12 months and they loved it."