St Mary High School won the Northern Regional Finals of the Bob Marley Debating Competition, sponsored by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), at the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE), Portland, last Wednesday.

The other finalist was Marymount High School, which is also from St Mary, the proposer in the keenly contested event for which the moot was, 'Bob Marley's messages are more than social commentaries, but revolutionary'.

The debate, attended by students of a number of schools in the region, was the second in a series of regional debates sponsored by the JCDC, in observance of the 65th anniversary of the birth of international reggae star, Bob Marley.

St Mary High School scored 665 points, while Marymount High amassed 588 points.

St Mary High School will now proceed to the national finals of the competition, scheduled for Kingston later this year.

Both schools were presented with trophies and certificates of appreciation for their performances. The award for best speaker went to Romaine Duncan of St Mary High School.

JCDC coordinator for the Debating Competition, Elizabeth Smith, said she was pleased with the performances of both schools in the finals.

She said the students had displayed a high level of maturity in presenting their arguments, and it was obvious that they had spent a lot of time doing research and preparation.

Congratulating the students and the teachers who helped to prepare them, Smith said the facts presented during the competition will go a far way in enabling them to better understand and appreciate the work of Bob Marley.