Year 13 linguists win Debating competition
Posted on: March 6th 2023School News
Congratulations to Sixth Form pupils David and Ben who took part in the North West Schools Debating Competition and won the overall trophy for German!
Eight Sixth Form pupils from The Manchester Grammar School took part in the competition held at Cheadle Hulme School, across three different languages and performed to a very high standard.
Year 13 pupils David and Ben are going to study German at university and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, saying: “We both cannot recommend the North West Schools Debating Competition enough. For students in years twelve and thirteen, it is an opportunity not only to significantly improve your confidence speaking the language, but also, on a simpler level, to have a fun time with your classmates and teachers. Debating in a foreign language sounds daunting and it undoubtedly was, but this is precisely the reason that we both feel it has helped us so much, particularly with our confidence in speaking German. Across the two initial debates in the group-stages, we feel that we debated two topics that are both interesting and allow for discussion about relevant, contemporary issues within our modern society. The two motions that we initially debated were ‘Digitale Technologie macht das Leben junger Leute besser’ (Digital technology makes the lives of young people better) and ‘Einfach ist besser als komplex’ (Simple is better than complicated)”.
They added: “The feeling of fear and excitement during the debates is something that we didn’t expect to come from a debating competition but this, combined with an incredibly friendly atmosphere made it an overwhelmingly enjoyable experience. It was also very encouraging for us to be able to convey ideas about such important topics coherently in a foreign language, something that we feel is invaluable for confidence when speaking a foreign language. The adjudicators, teachers and students were all very friendly as well as being sufficiently laid-back such that rapport was quickly built between us all, which yielded several funny moments, these significantly adding to the enjoyment of the day”.
Well done to both pupils and we wish them the very best in their linguistic journeys ahead!