There has been heated discussions taking place in the Lecture Theatre recently as pupils have been battling it out in the Inter-House debating competitions during lunchtimes. For each round the pupils had 60 seconds to argue for or against three different motions before moving to open debate. A group of Sixth Form pupils judged each of the rounds, looking at clarity of arguments, use of details and facts and the debaters’ powers of persuasion.
Lower School
First was the Lower School Debate which saw James Middlehurst and M Perry represent the Spartans, James Martin and Isaac Walmsley fighting for the Titans and Josh Zacharias and Matthew Ball standing for the Olympians.
The first issue to be debated was whether the British Monarchy should be abolished. Whilst the Spartans argued they should not be abolished for a number of reasons including protecting the country’s culture, tourism and economy, both the Titans and Olympians stated that such hierarchy should be removed and that as a democratic community having these members born into such roles is unfair.
The second statement discussed was whether space exploration is a waste of time and money. Isaac and James from Team Titans said it costs too much money and causes climate pollution, and that world hunger could be solved if the money was spent elsewhere instead. Josh and Matthew for the Olympians agreed and noted that Elon Musk has popularised the idea of space travel yet 400 tonnes of waste is created each trip. The Spartans once again took a different approach and argued that it is a necessity as it helps create new technology and jobs, helping boost economic growth. Monitoring the earth to map the globe, provide sat nav navigation, measure global warming and help predict potential dangers such as asteroids hitting the earth, are all necessary and provided by space exploration.
The final statement discussed was if Batman is a real superhero. Team Olympians said no as he’s just “a crazy rich man with no back story looking for revenge against the death of his parents”, with the Titans noting that a superhero is someone who does heroic things using a special power that others don’t and that Batman is just a rich man with good equipment. They did state, however, that Ukrainian soldiers risking their lives for the freedom of others and the NHS workers who helped us through the pandemic are heroes. The Spartans closed the debate by once again arguing the other side, describing how Batman is a superhero because he helps the world and defends people who can’t defend themselves, doing things that no ordinary person is capable of.
The judged declared Isaac and James from the Titans as the Lower School debating winners.
Year 9
In the Year 9 Inter-House Debate the following week, Kit Marsh and Zack Powell represented Everett, Bertie Demery and George Coultan represented Burr, Oscar Griffin and Freddie Coultas spoke for Skipwith, Jake Scotchbrook and Sam Pickering were fighting for Welsh and Louis Kennedy and James Man were speaking for Orchard.
The first topic to be discussed was whether NATO should give Ukraine full-military support to stop the Russian invasion. Everett and Skipwith both argued against NATO helping Ukraine due to the added threat of Russia extending their invasion to other countries and also Ukraine displaying a peaceful approach along with the strong leadership of President Zelensky. Orchard, Welsh and Burr were all for NATO supporting Ukraine, arguing that Russia could feel that they can continue to do what they want if they aren’t stopped now, citing the rising fuel prices and impact on economies around the world and also helping a country that has been the victim of war crimes. After the initial statements from each House the open discussion allowed for the participants to counter arguments and add additional comments, with Skipwith noting that Putin’s threats of biological weapons would have much bigger consequences and that a response from NATO would expedite this.
The second debate was around whether the World Cup in Qatar should be boycotted. Burr, Orchard and Welsh all argued for England to boycott, with speakers stating “It is a slap in the face for every worker who died building the stadiums”, “What example does it set if we attend the World Cup in a country where homosexuality is illegal” and “Their human rights record is shocking, we are allowing peple to die for a game of football, England must lead the way”. In response, Skipwith and Everett both argued against boycotting, noting that it’s been 12 years since Qatar was awarded the privilege of hosting the World Cup and nothing has changed in this time although as the competition gets closer the players have said it’s an opportunity to raise awareness. It was also argued that Sainsbury’s is owned by Qatar holdings and people don’t boycott shopping there. There would be a negative impact on pubs and hospitality in the UK if England weren't participating and one speaker also suggested this could be the year that England could win (but another rebuked whether we should be proud to win when hosted by this country?).
The final motion was again regarding whether Batman is a real superhero. Whilst Welsh, Skipwith, Orchard and Burr all argued that he was not a real superhero as he doesn’t have inhuman or unnatural powers, but is rich with cool gadgets, along with compassion and kindness. Everett argued that he does fit the criteria as he displays bravery and is quick-witted, choosing to fight for what is right.
The judges announced Freddie and Oscar from Skipwith as the Year 9 Inter-House Debating champions.
Year 10
The Year 10 Debate saw Dany Tabbarah and S Laing represent Burr, J Lucking and Jonathan Kowal speak for Skipwith, Dillon Higgins and Zachary Dransfield speaking for Welsh, Ben Stokes and George Forsyth represent Everett and Patrick Gilbertson and his team mate flying the Orchard flag.
They argued for and against the motions of whether NATO should give Ukraine full military support to stop the Russian invasion, whether school doesn’t actually prepare you for real, adult life and whether James Bond is a terrorist. Following the initial speeches from each House and the open debate, the judges declared James and Jonathan from Skipwith the Year 10 Inter-House Debating winners.
Well done to everyone for representing their Houses and thank you to Mr Player for overseeing the competitions and to the Sixth Form judges in each round.
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