03 Dec 2018
Our Year 8 debating team have been declared winners of the Blue Mountains Debating Competition for 2018 for their year group, defeating Winmalee High in the grand final on Thursday 29th November. The topic was “That childhood has lost its magic” and debaters were given only one hour to prepare their winning arguments.
All of our year group teams were highly successful over the course of the competition. Year 7 debaters were announced as runners-up for their year group after also participating in a the one-hour prep grand final. A second Year 8 team also achieved close results in their debates over the year, gaining valuable experience in the process. Our Year 10 team performed exceptionally well, showing the maturity and skills they have achieved over the past four years of debating and the countless wins, only just missing out on the grand final debate in a fierce battle of wits over the year.
As senior students for 2019/20, our Year 10 team will now put debating aside to concentrate on their studies, where we hope the skills and confidence gained will be put to good use. We wish them the best and thank them for their input into workshops and peer feedback over the years.
Debating is a wonderful activity that augments school learning and helps extend all students in their skills and knowledge. Learning how to prepare and debate a topic, regardless of your actual opinion, provides opportunities for students to grow in teamwork as well as develop and improve speaking and listening skills. Students learn to formulate arguments, provide evidence, expand on ideas and use rhetorical skills to convince audiences.
All students are welcome to join debating, and the 2019 competition will commence early in Term One.