TWO Harrow students battled it out with 100 other youngsters from eight countries for the title of best young debater in Europe this morning.

Gio Accurso, 17, and Peter O'Connor, 18, both students at St Dominic's College, Harrow-on-the-Hill, were part of a six strong British contingent taking part in the European Youth Parliament.

They were selected as the best speakers in the UK Youth Parliament held last November in the Greater London Assembly building.

The topic of the debate, held in the European Parliament chamber in Brussels, was the future of plastic, with people aged between 13 and 19 arguing for and against banning its use.

A panel of eight judges, including David Gow, the Guardian's European business editor, and Futurologist Ray Hammond, deliberated for nearly an hour before selecting a talented speaker from Slovenia as the winner.

Gio, who spoke in favour of a balanced view of developing a sustainable method of using plastic, said: “I think it's been good to mix in with the other European countries, and learn more about them.

“It was more of a public speaking competition than debating, as we never had a chance to come back at anyone's points, but that seems to be the European way.

“It was really nerve wracking, I had a minute to speak but it seemed more like 10 seconds.”

Peter, who celebrated his 18th birthday yesterday, did not get a chance to speak as the session finished while he waited for his turn.

The A-level student, from Roxeth Green Avenue, South Harrow, said: “It was quite disappointing not to get a chance to speak, but by the time I had something I wanted to say it was too late.

“It's been an amazing experience coming out here, and has given me a real taste for debating, but I would not adopt the European style of debating in our Parliament as it's too soft.”

Ray Hammond opened the debate by talking about the future of the world and the way plastic can be adapted to help counter the many threats facing humanity.

He told the Harrow Times: “It's been more about debating than trying to solve real issues today. It's important we foster the ability to debate as it's the cornerstone of democracy.

“It's very encouraging to see so many people of such great ability stand up and speak, I have been very impressed with many of the speakers.

“It's hard to imagine a world where we did not have any plastic at all. I look around this room now and all we would have are some wooden tables and empty microphone holders.”

All the participants were chosen after debating competitions in their own national youth parliaments in France, Germany, Croatia, Slovenia, UK, Poland, Sweden and Italy.

Nasreen Nazir was the only UK participant to walk away with a prize, after closing the debate for the anti-plastic faction.

David Pugh, the vice-president of Plastics Europe, who sponsored the event, said: “I'm sure today we have seen many of the future political leaders speaking at this event.

“It's great in the age of mobile phones and email to see so many young people who are able to dabate so well.

“It was very close in the end, and there were only seven points seperating the winner from 11th place.”