Students Make A Point In Oxford Schools Debating Competition

Ellesmere College recently entered the Oxford Schools Debating competition, which is run by the Oxford Union Society. A team of 4 keen debaters went up against 32 other teams from across the North West to compete in the largest British Parliamentary schools level debating competition in the world.

Held at Urmston Grammar School in Manchester, Ellesmere students had fewer than 15 minutes to prepare their cases on topics relating to the ethnicity in schools and the arming of police officers. Students were in action against the likes of Manchester Grammar School, King George V College, Lancaster Royal Grammar School and Sir John Deane's College.

The Oxford Union is one of the world's most prestigious debating societies, boasting a history of world famous speakers and controversial debates. The aim of the competition is to make debating accessible to as many schools as possible, where nearly 600 teams compete. The competition offers students an excellent chance to develop their skills and confidence in public speaking, thoughtful argumentation and analytical problem solving, and is open to students of all ages.

Dale Crawford, who heads the debating society at Ellesmere, said "Although we didn't reach the final, this was a keenly fought competition against some very experienced teams. Nonetheless it was an encouraging performance by our students and one that has raised their confidence, and it just showed that they fully deserved to be in the competition."

7th February 2014  Back to News