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Back to Live Debating for Wycombe Abbey Public Speakers

28 February 2023 - All

An exciting part of debating and public speaking is taking part in the many competitions on the UK school debating circuit. This term, after a long period of virtual competitions, pupils have been enjoying the opportunity to attend competitions in person again.

In January, five teams took part in the International Competition for Young Debaters (ICYD), this year organised by the Cambridge Union. The regional round was hosted in the Oxford Union, where pupils had an inspiring day visiting the historic buildings and spotting notable debaters in the many pictures. A range of debating topics were covered throughout the day, from whether we should establish quotas for women in parliament to whether we should ban zoos. A special congratulations to one of our UIV teams, Annika and Vivienne, who broke through to the Regional Final and will progress to the National Final, hosted at Cambridge in April.

Two of our LVI debaters, Megan and Mia, were very busy over Long Leave, entering two British Parliamentary competitions and finding success in both. The pair broke to the Bronze Final of LSE Schools on 12 February and then to the Gold Final of UCL Schools on 18 February. They also ranked very well individually with Mia taking 4th best speaker on both occasions and Megan taking 6th and 8th. Congratulations to the pair for their outstanding achievements!

We have also been delighted to be able to host competitions again. On 23 January we welcomed local schools for the second round of two ESU Public Speaking competitions: MACE and Churchill. Our MACE team presented a well-researched argument on the topic of whether countries with poor human rights records should be permitted to host international sporting events. Our Churchill teams spoke passionately on the impermissibility of torture and whether the Elgin Marbles should be returned to Greece. Congratulations to Cice, Aubrey and Abila, one of our LV Churchill teams, who are progressing to the Regional Final. We look forward to hosting this on 11 March.

Mr Alec Howells
Teacher of Computer Science and Teacher i/c of Debating and Public Speaking