Great debates in new junior house competition

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We have witnessed some compelling arguments for various motions in recent Junior House Debating (with teams consisting of Year 7s, 8s and 9s). Designed not only to promote debating to the wider school audience, but also to spark some healthy competition between the houses, it was great to see an excellent turnout during the week.

In Group 1, Brecon's team were able to work their way through fierce rebuttals from Camberwell and Southwark to win both of their debates and make their way to the grand finale. In Group 2, honours were shared evenly between Greencoat, Datchelor and Hayes, as all three houses secured one win apiece. Ultimately, it was judged that Datchelor deserved their place in the final as they had accumulated the most speaker points.

So, the stage was set for a Brecon v. Datchelor final on Thursday lunchtime in the JJ Hall, with a fantastic crowd over 100 strong eager to watch the debate unfold. Presented with the motion 'This House Believes That New Year's Resolutions Cause More Harm Than Good', both sides gave intriguing arguments, presented eloquently and concisely (under the pressure of a 2-minute speaking time for each team member). After serious deliberation between the debating prefect (Nihithan), Miss Mortimer and Mr Powell, Datchelor were crowned winners by the narrowest of margins.

Well done to all participants!

Article written by Idhant (Year 13)