AN OTLEY student is celebrating winning a major debating contest - and a trip to America.

Two Sixth Form pupils from Prince Henry's Grammar School, Isla Lury and team mate Iqra Shahid, took part in the annual Benjamin Franklin Debate Competition.

Subtitled Frankly Speaking, the event was held at Bloomberg Headquarters in London.

The Otley school pair were narrowly beaten in the final debate, This House Believes National Governments Should Be Solely Responsible for Space Exploration.

Isla, however - who lives in Ilkley - was judged to have given the best individual performance.

She has been rewarded with an all-expenses-paid place at the Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellows Summer Institute at Wake Forest University, North Carolina.

Head of Sixth Form at Prince Henry's, Claire Willis, said: "The Sixth Form Debating Society is one of the many enrichment activities which we offer our Sixth Form students, as they prepare for life beyond school.

"Both students performed extremely well in the debates and Isla has now gained an amazing opportunity as a result!

"We are very proud of them and their achievements.

"Isla came to our Sixth Form from another school and this award is testament to her hard work and the way in which she has seized every opportunity we can offer her."

During her stay in the United States Isla - who has been offered a place at Cambridge University to study Archaeology after her A Levels - will explore American culture and politics, and develop her leadership skills.

This is the second time that a Sixth Former from Prince Henry’s has won the individual debating prize at the competition, while the school's teams have achieved a place in the final every year the school has attended.

Student Stephen Dawes won the individual debating prize in 2016.