During the Easter holidays five Year 9 students had the opportunity to compete against thirteen other schools in the Regional Finals of the national debating competition ‘Up for Debate’.
The competition, which took place at York High School, was an opportunity for students Jess, Jamie and Ollie to demonstrate the debating skills they have learned during weekly after school preparation sessions which took place throughout the spring term. Students Emma and Karl, who also benefitted from the preparation sessions went along on the day to support their team mates, chair some of the debates and act as timekeepers.
Debate topics included junk food taxation, whether national treasures should be returned to their countries of origin and whether Universities should offer lower entry grade for state school students. The students did incredibly well ranking at 4th out of 14. Team member Jess was also awarded the accolade of ‘Outstanding Speaker’.
Ms Hilton-Peet said, “This was a great opportunity for our students and they gained valuable skills in confidently and concisely making clear and well thought out points to support their stance on the topics as a result. They were an absolute credit to themselves and our school”.
Mr Churm added, “I was extremely impressed by the quality and depth of the debates and am very proud of our students for all their efforts. It has been a good learning opportunity for them and we hope the skills and advice they have been given by some of the country’s top debaters will help them in many areas of their lives.”
Up for Debate Competition 2018
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