THE FIRST round of the 19th Courier/Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland Junior Schools Debating Competition continued last night when the fifth heat of the competition was held at St Leonard’s School in St Andrews.

Some 12 pupils debated the motion This House Supports Positive Discrimination for Women in the Armed Forces.

Arguing for increased female equality were Nikki Gordon and Miriam Malek of Madras College, St Andrews, Euan Erskine and Kieran Doak of Waid Academy, Anstruther, and Isabel Stott and Catriona Sharp of McLaren High School, Calla-nder.

Opposing them and defending the status quo were Jamie Mansbridge and Colin Cortbus of St Leonard’s School, Ciaran Russell and Elliott Miller of Bell Baxter High School, Cupar, and Gillian Carter and Rachel Anderton of Harris Academy, Dundee.

The proposition focused on discrimination against women in the forces, perhaps best expressed by Miriam Malek when she said, “GI Janes can be seen as targets of abuse, we need to stop this.”

The proposition was extended to discuss the changing nature of warfare, which was addressed by Euan Erskine, who said, “warfare is moving beyond brute force; it’s more technical—the days of trenches and direct combat are fading.”

The opposition dealt with the importance of maintaining the optimum level of performance within the forces, which was addressed by Jamie Mansbridge, who said, “The army is stretched at the moment, we don’t want to weaken our resources.” The opposition was then tasked with covering the potential for allowing the gender and balance to change naturally.

The house rejected the motion by 28 votes to 24 with eight abstentions.

The teams from Madras College, McLaren High School and Harris Academy progressed through to the second round of the competition.

The competition continues tonight with the sixth heat of the first round at Wallace High School in Stirling.