Inter-House Debating - Prelim Round Two...
Arion House vs Priory House
The second round of debates for this year resulted in a closely fought battle between Arion and Priory House. Both teams set out several clear points upon which they built their arguments and Mr Hambleton and I were impressed that both Houses were able to respond to points made by the opposite House in ‘real time’. It was clear that both Houses had prepared well for the debate, but in the end, it was Arion who had formulated a clearer and more succinct line of argument, ultimately crowning them the winners of this round. Well done to both teams for an impressive round of debating.
Dr Emily Corrigan - Deputy Head, Teaching & Learning
Blackford House vs Lyon House
This morning’s debate between Blackford and Lyon was a very close competition. Blackford were proposing the motion that mobile phones should be banned in schools, whilst Lyon were opposing it. Gabriel and Milo, as the junior reps for both teams, spoke extremely well and were engaging and informative. Archie and Ben, as the main speakers, spoke confidently and had clearly researched their speeches extremely well. Finally, Adam and Jeevan on the rebuttals showed what accomplished speakers they were using excellent eye contact, tone, emphasis and humour to convey their points and answer the excellent questions that had come from the floor. Overall, Mr Mitra and I felt that Lyon had the edge and gave an overall score of 38 points to 35. It was a very informative debate and we both thoroughly enjoyed adjudicating it.
Emily Simper - Deputy Head, Pastoral
Wellesley House vs New House
In the second round of the Inter-House Debating Competition, we were fortunate to witness a fantastic debate between New and Wellesley. Both teams had taken onboard the feedback from the first round of the competition, demonstrating excellent strategy and debating skills. It was incredibly impressive to see pupils speaking so confidently, with excellent speed, tone and stage presence demonstrated by both teams. A huge amount of research had clearly taken place, with both teams not just preparing their own argument, but also ensuring that they had prepared for the opposition teams main points and could form a comprehensive and decisive rebuttal. Both teams used Points of Information well, although the way in which Sarah of Wellesley House dealt with these was very impressive. Whilst both teams showed great skill and an impressive amount of preparation, special mention must go to Satine, Sarah and Emily for the way in which they engaged with the audience and handled a very strong argument for the motion from New House. The result was a victory to Wellesley and both teams will go on to the next round having learnt a huge amount from a very impressive debate.
Dan Cupit - Deputy Head, Academic