Inside Debate Mate: Building Confidence and Skills
On Wednesday 9th of July, we hosted the Debate Cup, enjoying a fantastic day of debating. Our Year 10 judges and Zoya from Year 9 impressed with their professionalism and excellent organisation.
Students debated engaging topics such as "Should extracurricular clubs be compulsory for all students?", "Is social media harmful for young people?", and in the final, "Should under 18s be allowed to vote?".
Every speaker performed admirably, including those presenting for the first time. Congratulations to Charity House for winning and Wisdom House as runners-up.
Sabirah in 10 Faith wrote:
"Debate Mate is a safe space for arguing with people.
That’s what some people may think, anyway. In actuality, the whole idea of the club is to encourage young people to be confident in themselves when speaking publicly, build strong arguments to promote both sides of a motion, and work effectively as a team. It sounds a bit daunting, I know – it was honestly a bit weird debating “professionally” so suddenly – but it’s very easy to get used to. The club features games and activities that are meant to help you strategise, as well as actual debates and trips away from school.
But let’s talk about the House Debate Cup, a competition that happened on July 9th. That’s where all the fun is. It’s simple; students from all years who were part of Debate Mate came to compete against each other with their learned skills, quickly putting together speeches to support their side of the argument, whether they were for or against. Everyone who attended featured a range of important techniques during the day, like linking to their fellow speakers' points and speaking confidently. Let’s take Francesca (9 Hope) for example. She was able to deliver strong arguments without breaking a sweat, starting her team off strong as the first speaker. And there’s also Jameelah (9 Charity), who was able to successfully respond to POIs and rebuttals on the spot, keeping her team on top. Congratulations to Charity for winning the cup, by the way!
However, for those moving up to year 10 next year, you won’t be participating in the House Debate Cup. Instead, you’ll be judging the debates in question. As someone who was part of the judging board, I can safely say that it is just as fun to watch the debates as taking part in them. It’s easy to get invested in what both teams have to say. And I’m pretty fellow judges agree. Alexandra (10 Faith) said that “It was an exciting opportunity to see other people compete for once and it was fun to just watch and judge other people.” And Moyosore explained to me that, “It was an amazing opportunity that I both benefited from and learnt from. It was interesting to judge students knowing that I've experienced the same feelings regarding debate before.”
If you are interested in joining Debate Mate Club, please contact Ms Faith at lfaith@laretraite.co.uk