Marian College won the Bishop Lyons Shield this year, taking it away from 2019 winners Catholic Cathedral College, who were the second overall winner.
The competition was ably hosted by St Thomas of Canterbury College this year from April 9-10. It was cancelled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.
This year’s shield was hotly contested, with merely one and a half points separating the first and fourth placers on the Saturday (April 10).
Marian College students Malaika Sequeira, Amy Williamson and Danielle McKenzie sealed the deal for their school by answering five questions well on Pope St Paul VI’s Nostra Aetate, Declaration on Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions.
“We went to the event at St Thomas’ with no expectations except to do our best and enjoy ourselves. We performed brilliantly, eventually winning the shield. Thank you to the many staff who gave hours of their time to coach the team and spent their weekend supporting our team. Special thanks to St Thomas’ for creating an atmosphere where the message was obvious, that we are ‘all in this together’,” said Marian College principal Mary-Lou Davidson in the school’s newsletter.
Catholic Cathedral College’s debating team (Lucy Munro, Daniel McNeill and Jamie McDermott) held on to the debating award after a tight
contest with St Thomas students Alex McCorkindale, Joseph Costas and Xavier Anisy. Ms Munro was judged best speaker.
The other winners in the different categories include: Aaron Brighton (St Thomas, impromptu); Simon Curnow (St Bede’s, junior prepared speech); Taylor Fasi-Fidow (Marian College, senior prepared speech); and Valelia Taaso (Marian College, Scripture reading).
John Paul II High School in Greymouth will host next year’s competition.
The competition started in 1945, and was named after Bishop Patrick Lyons, who was the Bishop of Christchurch at the time. It takes place between the seven Catholic secondary schools in Christchurch Diocese.
Reader Interactions