Oxford Schools' Debating Finals 2023
Posted on: March 16th 2023School News
Congratulations to year 12 pupil Ronak and year 13 pupil Luke who both competed at the Oxford Schools' Debating Finals, held in the Oxford Union.
Both pupils won the Regional Round, which saw over 30 schools from all over the region taking part, and fought off some fierce competition to meet many international pupils in the Finals.
Ronak spoke about his experiences: "I was delighted to participate in the Oxford Schools Debating Competition Finals’ Day after winning the North West regional round. The day was held at the historic Oxford Union, and I debated in and around the chambers. The Oxford Union was founded in 1823, and is the most prestigious location for debating in the world, having hosted some of the most famous figures from all industries in recent history, such as Albert Einstein, Ronald Reagan, Stephen Hawking, Malcolm X and Shakira. The Oxford Schools Debating Competition is the largest student debating competition in the world, and teams from as far as Korea and Canada arrived in Oxford to compete. Debating in an environment with the most accomplished debating teams from around the world was an immense achievement, and an extraordinary privilege.
"I entered the Oxford Union area, and after registering in one of the rooms (it was more like a library, but there were too many similar rooms for it to actually be one), I entered the main chamber and sat down. There were hundreds of students in the chamber (116 teams in total), either sitting on one of the benches facing the main speaking area, or standing in one of the corridors; all were just as excited to be in the historic building as we were. There were international teams, who had won the international rounds in Kenya, Korea, India, etc – we debated against two teams from Eswatini, which was a new experience, to say the least.
"After the team at Oxford gave the initial briefing, we started the ranked debates. In total, I competed in four different debates, arguing topics spanning women’s empowerment, education, artificial intelligence and career politicians. The process was intellectually invigorating, and although debating from the morning through to the late afternoon was certainly tiring, the stimulating discussion we had with incredibly competent debaters kept me motivated and thoroughly interested. After each debate the adjudicator, a student at Oxford who was a member of the Oxford Student Union, would provide detailed feedback explaining the rankings of each team, and what each individual team could improve on. This feedback provided a much greater understanding of how British Parliamentary-style debating worked, and the specific advice and constructive (generally friendly!) criticism meant that after each debate, I felt even more prepared and confident going into the next".
Ronak concluded: "Throughout the debates, I met many like-minded young people from across the country and beyond, hailing from cities like Sheffield, Dublin, Oxford, Liverpool and London. It was a pleasure in talking to such talented and amicable students; conversations ranged from further discussion about the motion, to marvelling at the stunning buildings in Oxford, to the students’ lives at the various schools they attended. The day concluded in the chamber, where the results of the debate rounds were announced. Unfortunately, I did not make it through to the finals, but I am still proud of the way my teammate and I performed in such a high-calibre atmosphere. I learned so much about the skill of debating from the experience, and I am certain I’ll make it to the final round next year!"
Well done to both pupils!