A TRIO of budding High Wycombe students bowed out of a national public speaking contest tonight.

The team from the Royal Grammar School narrowly missed out on going through to the next stage of the Rotary Club's annual Youth Speaks competition.

Andrew Quigley, David Maunder - deputy head boy at the school in Amersham Hill - and Christopher Finn, all 18, were the only male team to make it through to the Berks, Oxford, south Bucks and Midddlesex district senior final.

Their entertaining ten-minute talk about the slang terms used by young people had the audience chuckling in the aisles.

Andrew lead the team as chairman and introduced David who presented the speech, entitled Youth Speak for "Youth Speaks".

Christopher finished off proceedings by giving the vote of thanks.

The judges, led by Simon King, were very impressed with their efforts.

But the RGS boys, and two other competing teams, were pipped to the post by the girls from St Helen and St Katharine school in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

Before announcing the winners, Mr King said: "It doesn't matter how experienced you are, how old you are, how young you are, when you speak in public there is always that slightly edgy feeling that something's going to go wrong.

"We do admire you all for the confidence you have shown."

Commenting on each of the speakers, he added: "David, we were very impressed with the variety of body language and gesture you used.

"A very impressive performance."

The boys had beat off stiff competition in two previous finals to reach tonight's regional stage, which was held at the Lancaster Arts Centre in Wycombe Abbey School.

The winners will now go through to the south east England region finals in two-weeks time.