Congratulations to our debaters, Anna, Sam, Orlaith and Ryan, who have progressed through to the final of the Womble Bond Dickinson/Leeds Salon Year 10 & 11 Debating Competition 2023.
In the heat, against Carr Manor, both teams dealt brilliantly with and incredibly challenging format. The debaters had 3 minutes to present their opening arguments before being grilled by a panel of judges and the audience, after which they had the chance to cross examine the opposition speakers in a gruelling ‘head-to-head’. After all of this, they were given a minute to summarise their case; highlighting the strengths of their own arguments and exploiting the weaknesses in the opposition’s case.
Orlaith and Anna started the evening opposing the motion – “In a digital age, we should not expect our online activity to remain private“. Sam and Ryan then proposed the motion of the evening, “Britain should pay reparations for its colonial past“. Both teams won their debates 2-1.
All the students impressed the staff and judges by the way they stepped up to the challenge.
Thank you to everyone at Leeds Salon for the opportunity and to Carr Manor for their hospitality.