Two Strathcona Tweedsmuir students will make their way to the United Kingdom to represent the Canadian Delegation at Oxford Finals Day.

Zaki Lakhani, one of the two students, says he and his fellow teammate, Chelli Shapiro, are honoured to be competing against some of the best debaters.

"The best teams in the UK are competing, so we're just extremely happy that we were able to qualify from the nationals here, and we think it's going to be a great learning experience, and to get some really quality feedback from, not only top Oxford debaters, but others, as well," he said.

The second student, Chelli Shapiro, says she's been debating since grade seven, and finds the skills she's learned to be useful in everyday life.

"You have to debate both sides of issues, which means you don't always represent your own beliefs, and I think that that caters really well to understanding the world better as a whole, and being a more active participant in your own democracy," she said.

Chelli and Zaki will be competing against the best debaters in the United Kingdom, Western Europe, Singapore and the United States.

The finals day takes place this coming Saturday, and three of the four teams chosen to compete at the Oxford Union are from Alberta. This is the first in Albertan debate history.

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