Debating: Senior British Parliamentary Competition

On Sunday 27 August, four experienced debaters took part in the Senior British Parliamentary Competition at St. Kevin’s College involving 23 schools, 44 teams and approximately 110 students.

Year 10 students, Kavina Kalaichelvam and Henrietta Paterson (Team 1), and Year 11 students, Pia Graham and Isabel Gray (Team 2), ably represented St. Catherine’s throughout the course of three Rounds.

Despite not progressing through to the Grand Final, we congratulate Isabel Gray who was nominated one of the top ten Speakers in the Competition. This is a great achievement for Isabel’s first foray into this type of competition and she will be presented formally at the Swannie Awards Ceremony in October. While no specific preparation is required when taking part in this style of debate, a good range of general knowledge, particularly political and social is a distinct advantage.

Topics on the day included, ‘That we should hold parents responsible for crimes committed by their children’ and ‘‘That we should never use taxation to discourage activities for which the government disapproves’. This style of Debating is far more conversational and informal than traditional Debating, allowing students to rebut arguments holistically rather than specifically, resulting in animated argument. The Competition allows students to extend their existing skills and promotes students’ thinking on their feet while also doing battle against familiar competitors in the existing DAV program.