Ngaere School Year 8 students Brooke McDonald, Rebekah Frost, Erinna Rowlands and Amanda Longshaw debated that Cellphones are necessary for teenagers, and won the Taranaki Form Two trophy.
The judges said the girls won on the structure of their speeches and their amusing rebuttals.
Brooke debated that cellphones were a safety tool for teenagers and another tick for their necessity was texting meant they did not hog the home landline.
Rebekah affirmed the necessity of a cellphone through recreation and education.
"Recreational activities meant teenagers were communicating through their cellphones instead of joining gangs, taking drugs and alcohol."
She said games on cellphones were recreational.
Erinna's affirmative centred on text bullying and safety.
The negatives said text bullying had led to suicides, but Erinna's rebuttal was to think how many lives were saved with cellphones.
The safety of text bullying meant they could save the message as proof.
Amanda was the timekeeper.
"All of the speeches were three minutes long and at two minutes 30 seconds I had to sound the triangle, then at the three minute ring the girls had one minute to sum up their speech."
The Ngaere team won against Midhirst, Highlands Intermediate, Mangorei School and Hawera Intermediate and the schools that took part were from Patea to New Plymouth.
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