Interschool programs and the House Debating and House Public Speaking finals have continued to challenge, reward and inspire our debaters and public speakers. Some program highlights are listed below, followed by reflections from students Isabella Teoh (Year 11) and Junya Jiang (Year 8). 

Senior DAV Program: 

We have wrapped up another successful season of Senior DAV Debating. The Years 9-12 Senior DAV Interschool Debating program saw many wins, best speakers, improved skills and much enthusiasm. The debaters prepared for five rounds of debates against regional schools, as well as meeting the challenge of debating Secret Topics announced one hour prior to the debate. Undefeated in the Hawthorn Region, one of the St Catherine’s Year 9 teams, Olga Chen, Iha Guruprasad, Genevieve Le and Amabella Tsui, progressed to the Finals series, winning seven debates straight before reaching the Octo-Finals, which is an incredible achievement.  

Junior DAV Secondary Debating Program: 

Years 7 and 8 students joined the JSP program held at St Kevin’s College and enjoyed the opportunity to participate in training sessions, as well as honing their skills in debates against students from neighbouring schools. The students particularly enjoyed being mentored by the Year 11 debaters. St Catherine’s teams won nine of their eleven debates, with three of the four teams remaining undefeated. Along with six students being named Best Speaker in their debates, Year 7 students, Ivy Zu and Yifei (Sophie) Wang, and Year 8 student, Anna Roosenburg placed in the top ten highest scorers in the region.  

British Parliamentary Debating Competitions: 

British Parliamentary debating is a very dynamic form of debating, with four teams of two speakers debating a motion. Two teams debate in the affirmative role as the government and two debate in the negative role as the opposition. Sixteen students competed in the British Parliamentary debating competitions, with Isabella Teoh (Year 11) scoring in the top ten speakers. Year 8 student Junya Jiang’s team proceeded to the Grand Final. Ivy Zu (Year 7) was the 3rd top speaker and also competed in the online Oxford Schools Debating Competition.  

National Mooting Competition: 

We also celebrated the success of our Mooting team who reached the National Semi-Finals. Mooting is a mock court proceeding where the mooters act as legal counsel before a moot court judge. Having won their regional Heat in the National High School Mooting Competition, the St Cath’s team proceeded to the Finals at Bond University. Year 12 students Isha Paithankar acted as Senior Counsel, Vinuki Ranatunga was Junior Counsel and Karis Chan fulfilled the role of Solicitor. 

House Debating and House Public Speaking:  

The House Debating Heats and Finals and the House Public Speaking Competition were enthusiastically supported with the trademark House spirit, with Davis House winning the House Debating Finals, and Langley Templeton winning the House Public Speaking Competition. Both competitions provided audiences with a range of intelligent and engaging speeches. 

Public Speaking Competitions: 

St Catherine’s participants in the Rostrum, Rotary, VCAA and DAV Public Speaking Competitions, further honed their skills and were excellent ambassadors for the school.  In addition to being named Best Speaker in the DAV debates and the highest scoring speaker on the day in the DAV Women’s Debate, Year 11 student Isabella Teoh came third place in the Rotary Public Speaking Competition, won her Heat in the VCAA Plain English Speaking Competition and was awarded an Honourable Mention in the Harvard Mock United Nations competition held in Sydney.  

As well as her accomplishments in the Asia Pacific Debating Competition, the Junior DAV Debating, and the British Parliamentary Debating Competitions, Year 8 student Junya Jiang was one of the Top Ten Speakers in the Junior DAV Public Speaking Competition. Isabella and Junya have shared a brief reflection below. 

I thank Isha Paithankar and Celina Wang for their leadership of the program as the 2025 Co-Captains and congratulate Isabella Teoh and Isabelle Cao on their appointment as the 2026 Co-Captains. 

Merran O’Connor  

Debating and Public Speaking Coordinator  

Student Voice: 

Harvard Model United Nations 

Simulating the United Nations at a high school level, my experience at Harvard Model United Nations (HMUN) was fantastic. Every participant was given a notepad to scribble down arguments and pass notes to other countries’ representatives to discuss our views, one of the charms of such a conference. The event gave me an opportunity to better understand current global affairs through the lens of diplomatic collaboration, debate, and public speaking.   

While the educational aspect of HMUN was invaluable, the ultimate highlight of the event was the variety of people you meet from across Australia and internationally. Especially in such a tension filled political and economic climate, it is important to have young people concerned and ready to discuss such issues in a formal setting. As the United Kingdom representative, I found it exhilarating to embody a nation and utilise research to better understand my country’s national interests. As the event was run by Harvard University, I had the opportunity to talk to students who are studying at such a prestigious institution about future careers and higher education. Ultimately, it was an honour to receive an award from the chair of my committee, the World Bank, as I found every participant had outstanding speaking ability and understanding of current affairs. 

Isabella Teoh (Year 11)  

Asia Pacific Schools Debate Championships 

I recently had the opportunity to compete in the Asia Pacific Debating Championship in the Rookie Division. The two-day long online competition consists of five qualifier rounds and three elimination rounds, contested by over 150 participants from 11 different countries.  

The experience was both challenging and rewarding, with plenty of last-minute panicking about reaching the seven-minute mark and heated discussions about which points were strongest. Despite the pressure, my team and I gained valuable skills, learned from other passionate young debaters across the regions, and proudly placed 2nd overall in the Under 14 Rookie Grand Final. The competition helped me grow in confidence, improve my public speaking, and think more critically under pressure, and I’m excited to continue developing through future debating opportunities. 

Junya Jiang (Year 8)