Since way back at the start of the school year, a group of students have been gathering to discuss difficult and taboo topics at Malet Lambert’s Debate Club.
Participants are mainly from Year 9, 10 and 11, and are joined by teaching staff from the RE department, Miss Dixon, Miss Beilsten and Mr Hambleton.
After four months of talking politics, religion and poverty, and battling it out between themselves in a classroom, Miss Dixon decided to give them the opportunity to showcase their ability to argue on the stage at a Debate Tournament held in the school hall.
She said, “This was the first time they had a debate outside of my classroom and they were all quite nervous.
“We started Debate Club because we realised how talented students are at arguing their points and we really want to nurture this ability.
“Although they have become quite skilled at open debates in the privacy of a classroom, it added an extra level of pressure to perform in front of an audience.
“The students worked very hard on their debates with minimal input from staff, and absolutely no help on the content.
“I was so impressed with their confidence on stage and I hope we can take this forward and enter them into a local or national competitions.”
Students were watched by a small audience and judged by three staff volunteers, while they debated the pros and cons of difficult subjects like abortion, capital punishment and euthanasia.
For each subject, participants had to deliver an opening summary, their main argument, two minutes of open debate and a conclusion. Judges were asked to award prizes for particular categories based on individual arguments throughout the competition.
Year 10 student Abigail, won Best Original Argument for comparing the institution of marriage to a meal in a popular pizza restaurant.
She said, “Debating in class has given me lots of confidence but mainly because I know everyone so well - it doesn’t seem as scary with people you know.
“Just before Christmas, we were given a list of topics to pick from and had until this week to research and prepare our arguments.
“I was so nervous presenting to an audience but nevertheless it was a really good experience.
“I’ve been going to Debate Club since it started and it’s really improved my presentation skills and helped me learn how to think on my feet.
“Hopefully we might now get a chance to compete against teams from other schools in a competition.”
For students who would like to get involved, Debate Club runs every Thursday lunchtime in room 1.1.46.