On Thursday 29th November, the Debating Society ventured into the wilds of Wiltshire, to Stonar School for round one of the national debating competition, organised by the English Speaking Union. Representing the school were Georgia and Rose in LVI, though the preparation process for the debate was very much a team exercise in the weeks before.
Up against Kingswood School, the pair were very convincing in proposing the motion ‘This house would ban the sale and consumption of meat’. Considering the practical and ethical reasons behind this ban, Rose and Georgia expertly fielded questions and points from the opposition and from the audience.
The other debates of the evening centred around whether we should build on the green belt, and whether we should weight votes more heavily in favour of younger votes. The students in our Debating Society were very enthusiastic in asking questions of the other schools on these issues.
Along with two other schools, St Mary’s impressed the judges enough to be put through to round two of the competition which will be taking place in the new year, where they will have a new topic to discuss.
Mrs Samantha Handy, Head of History and Politics