On the morning of Friday 25th March, Suella was delighted to host her annual ‘Fareham Schools Debating Competition’ at Fareham College. The competition was formed of teams of two Year 8 pupils from Cams Hill School, Boundary Oak School, Portchester Community School, Fareham Academy and Brookfield Community School. The event consisted of three debates that saw each team participating in a twenty-minute debate under British Parliamentary Debating Rules. Each debate was carefully adjudicated by a panel of three judges that was formed of Suella, Mark Waldron, Editor at The News, Portsmouth, and Andrew Kaye, Principal and CEO of Fareham College.
Suella was incredibly impressed by the high standard of debating amongst the competitors. During the competition a range of topical and thought-provoking issues were passionately argued by debaters. The motions saw students questioning whether controversial statues should remain, whether social media is beneficial for teenagers, and whether Fareham should receive city status.
After three intense debates, followed by careful consideration from the judges, Boundary Oak School students Ava and Winnie were selected as the overall winners of the competition. Ava and Winnie scored the most points in the competition for their outstanding debate opposing the motion, “This House Believes That Controversial Statues Should be Removed”. As a prize for winning the competition, Ava and Winnie have been invited to Parliament by Suella to watch PMQs where they will enjoy a thrilling perspective of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition going head-to-head in Parliament. A special mention was also presented to Fareham Academy student Daisy for winning speaker of the day.
Suella emphasised that it was an incredibly close decision in the end and that she was highly impressed by the standard of all three debates. Suella was also pleased to see that many competitors were eager to receive feedback on their speeches so that they could improve their performances in future debates. On the day the judges highlighted that the students who orated clearly, slowly, and articulately were rewarded with the highest marks, as this was the most effective way of presenting an argument.
After the competition Suella was pleased to hear that the two pupils from Portchester Community School’s team had enjoyed the event so much that they have set up a school debating society to continue their newfound passion for the art of debating.
With the Fareham Schools Debating Competition 2022 now concluded, Suella is looking forward to putting the event on again next year.
Commenting Suella said:
“Friday’s competition was a great success. I am very pleased that each school taking part put forward a well-prepared team for a set of three exceptionally competitive debates. I thought that the standard was very high this year, you could see that pupils had put a lot of effort into practising their speeches and that a lot of time had gone into researching for their debates. For most students in the competition this was their first time at debating, I was glad to give feedback to the competitors and I am sure that this experience will be of great benefit to them in many walks of life. I was thrilled to hear that students from Portchester Community School have now set up their own debating society as a result of this competition, I look forward to seeing what they have to offer at next year’s competition.
“Congratulations to Winnie and Ava from Boundary Oak School, they thoroughly deserved to win the competition. Their articulate elocution, well-informed arguments and clear delivery of speeches saw them out-perform all other teams on the day. I look forward to welcoming them to Parliament for PMQs in the near future.
“Thanks to Fareham College for hosting us at their excellent facilities and for helping the event run smoothly. It was a shame that Henry Cort had to pull out due to Covid, but my thanks again to Fareham College for stepping in at the last minute by providing a team to allow the competition to carry on.”
Commenting Mark Waldron, Editor of the News, Portsmouth, said:
“The students have done a fantastic job as always. We have given them some really meaty subjects to discuss, and they have done so with confidence, and the preparation is evident. The quality of debate has made our job very difficult as judges!”
Commenting Andrew Kaye, Principal and CEO of Fareham College, said:
“I am delighted that the annual Fareham School Debating Competition has returned following delays due to Covid. Fareham College is a brilliant venue at the heart of our local community, and we work closely with school partners to deliver innovative and exciting events. I have been incredibly impressed with the contribution of the students, teaching and support staff and look forward to this event returning next year.”
