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Senior Debate Competition
Sarah in 11C sent this report:
I was given the honour to act as chair and timekeeper for the Senior Debate Competition on the 27th of November. The insight offered into each of the four debates was extremely refreshing, and the breadth of each argument offered was outstanding.
The first debate discussing the benefits of tourism, beautifully examined the positive multiplier effect tourism could cause. The opposition was able to criticise how tourism revenue was often not used to reinvest into local communities, but it was ultimately the wide scope of the team arguing for the affirmative, accounting for both domestic and international tourism, that won them the first round. The second debate surrounded economic ideas of market failure, enquiring as to whether unhealthy lifestyles are a responsibility of the government. Debaters responded to questions about individual freedom and knowledge about unhealthy lifestyles, with the affirmative opening speech going as far as to dub a lack of individual freedom as "Orwellian," winning that round. The third debate challenged the 1996 policies surrounding education, asking whether too many people were going to university. The debate mainly centred around the benefits of apprenticeships instead of traditional university degrees and discussed how opportunities for the less fortunate could be encouraged when pursuing higher education. Those arguing that too many are attending university came out on top.
The final posed the question "Should we keep statues of controversial figures?" discussing whether this would be rewriting history. The opposition, who won the final, offered alternate solutions, such as storing statues in museums where they can be used as historical sources, instead of glorifications of immoral acts.
Congratulations to the winning team of Daniella, Jemima, Jessica and Claudia. Congratulations as well to the (extremely close) second place team of Amna, Aylin, Anne and Faith, and thank you to Dr Millgate and Mrs Griggs for devoting their evening to judging and supervising the event.
