A TEAM of four students from Darlington have argued their way into the national finals of a debating competition.

The students from Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College triumphed in the North-East final of the debating competition hosted at Newcastle University.

The students' prize for winning the round of the competition was £1,000 worth of books for the college library

James Metcalfe, Lucy Madden, Rebecca Castle and Chris Wakefield will travel to London at the end of June to compete in the national finals.

Giles Bayliss, who organises the college's debating society, said: "I am extremely proud of the team's achievements.

"All four of them are skilled and talented debaters and I expect them to do very well in London."

The competition involved 128 schools and colleges.

Students debated a series of issues before being questioned by a panel of judges made from representatives from universities and industry.

The team is one of eight to progress to the national final.

It will be held at the National Portrait Gallery during the last weekend in June.