West Sussex County Council: West Sussex School Wins Grand Final In House Of Lords

Date: Jul 14, 2006

Press Release Number: PR874

West Sussex School Wins Grand Final In House Of Lords

A West Sussex school has beaten four other challengers to become outright winners of a competition held at the House of Lords. Pupils from Downlands Community School in Hassocks walked away with the prize in the grand final of a contest called "Do YOU Speak European?"

Four teams representing counties in the South East and South West battled their way to the final of the competition, designed to explore what it means to be part of Europe as a young UK citizen.

The event was selected for funding by the European Parliament, who examined hundreds of projects submitted. Subjects included languages, why the UK never wins Eurovision, and Turkish membership of the EU.

The idea for the competition came from the West Sussex European Youth Ambassadors - young people from the county's Youth Cabinet who work with the County Council's Europe Office. They created the contest as part of a project to help raise awareness of issues and opportunities in Europe.

"It was a very close competition, and the judges were highly impressed by all the contestants, the research they had undertaken and their different presentation styles," said Brad Watson OBE, West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for External Affairs. "However in the end West Sussex managed to bring home the first prize. Each team member received £100 worth of Eurostar vouchers. Everyone enjoyed the day and the experience of being inside the House of Lords was really inspiring."

Now the European Youth Ambassadors have created a study pack, for all schools and youth groups, which will include a film of the House of Lords event.

"We are extremely proud to have won the competition," commented Caron Methol, Head of Modern Languages at Downlands Community School. "Citizenship is an important part of the school agenda, and raises many issues. This competition has been extremely useful in helping our young people see where they fit in, both nationally and internationally."

Teams taking part were:

Hampshire County Youth Council

St Peter's School, Exeter, Devon

Newent Community School, Glouchestershire

Downlands Community School, Hassocks.

Judges were:

Tom Wylie - National Youth Agency

Richard Ashworth - MEP South East

Gordon Keymer - Committee of the Regions

Ruth Coleman - Local Government Association, Chairman of the Europe Panel

Wioletta Dunin-Majewska - UK offices of European Commission

Contact: CE.Communications.Team@westsussex.gov.uk