Autumn Debating Competition
Dorian (Year 12) reports on the latest Debating Competition.
On Tuesday, we took part in the first debating competition of this term at South Hampstead School in North London. The competition involved three rounds, during which we debated in trios on a range of topics. These included whether private ownership of drones should be banned, whether telling someone that there is someone worse off than them does more harm than good, and whether joke candidates should be banned from political elections. Each debate was unique and challenged us to think quickly, respond to opposing arguments and work together to put forward the strongest case. Our senior (and junior) team won two out of three debates showing how our practice had paid off. My favourite part of the day was actually the round which we lost: working with teammates to construct and display arguments which we do not truly believe was a great skill to develop. Furthermore, the friendly rivalry with the opposition was particularly enjoyable. As the standard of competition was consistent with our skill level, we really enjoyed the experience especially as it was our first time competing and the atmosphere was very pleasant.
One of the most useful parts of the day was the feedback we received from the judges. We learned how important it is to consider the severity, scale and probability of the arguments we make, as well as using comparisons that are more directly relevant to the situation. This gave us a much better understanding of how to make our arguments more convincing and develop our debating skills. We also enjoyed hearing different perspectives on issues that are relevant to society today. Overall, the competition helped us to build confidence, work better as a team and learn from more experienced debaters. We would definitely recommend taking part in debating competitions to other students, as they are a really enjoyable way to develop skills that are useful both inside and outside the classroom. We would also like to thank Miss Mortimer and Mr Powell very much for organising and guiding us throughout the experience.