TEENAGERS had the chance to speak their minds and give adults a good talking to on Monday.

Eleven teams entered this year’s annual Rotary Club Youth Speaks competition.

Hosted by Winton Academy, the theatre was filled with friends and families of the five intermediate teams from Rookwood School, Winton Academy, Harrow Way School, John Hanson School and Welling-ton Academy and six senior teams from Rookwood School, Well-ington Acad-emy, Test Valley School, Harrow Way School, John Hanson School and Winton Academy.

Intermediate subjects ranged from Surviving in the Recession, The Commercial-isation of British Traditions, The Role and Effect of Video Games and Reality TV and the simple question Why?

The seniors explored the realms of Hash Tag politics, The internet’s effect on romance and The role of social media, Ban the badger culls, The truth of advertising and What’s your problem?

It was Rookwood’s Theo Youds who clinched the Intermediate Best Speaker title with a polished and humorous examination of the importance of the word Why. But it was John Hanson that eventually took the overall Intermediate team trophy.

In the senior section John Hanson’s Adam Large charmed the audience and judges with his easy and confident delivery to take the Best Speaker title.

His subject of ‘What’s your problem? We all have them’ did much to put our daily moans and groans into perspective in the context of global difficulties.

However, overall senior trophy winners were the Rookwood team whose delving into the world of Hash Tag politics sought to understand the growing disaffection with politics and the power of social media compared to government.

The winning teams now go on to the next round on 5 March. The judging panel consisted of former Andover Advertiser editor Joe Scicluna, actor, director and international speaker Vera Hughes and Test Valley mayor Cllr Janet Whiteley.