The teams only had 15 minutes to prepare what they were going to say. They then spoke for three minutes each, without notes, using their argumentative skills to prove their point and out-argue the opposing team. In the first round of debating, two of the three teams won their debate, and the third were beaten by St Cecelia’s by just one point! They were quite rightly buzzing after this success, and although we unfortunately had to return to school earlier than planned, meaning that they had to withdraw from the competition, it was clear that they were strong candidates to be in the competition final.

These students should be proud of themselves for pushing themselves to do something as challenging as this. They were a credit to the school and it has been a pleasure seeing their confidence and skills develop to this level.

Well done to Fatema Siddique T5, Eron Pllana T4, Michelle Shah T2, Amina Riamah T4, Ram Bhari T4, Safa Khan T1, Raheem Ojukotola T3, Wajiha Umar T5, Tiphaine Haque T7, Greta Shkreli T7, Michas Morris T3, Meshack Barnett T2, Jabril Mahamud T1, Sope Johnson T6, and Shay O’Donnell T6.