This year has seen the return of senior debating. Launceston Grammar has pitted a team of its best and brightest against St Patrick’s, St Bernard ...
This year has seen the return of senior debating. Launceston Grammar has pitted a team of its best and brightest against St Patrick’s, St Bernard Shaw, and Scotch Oakburn. Our plucky team is represented by the Eleanor Nguyen, Maddy Woodfield, Shirin Kilinc, Annabel van der Heide, Anjana Kumar and Luke Woodfield who have done a wonderful job of representing the school. These students are a mixture of veterans of the debating world, as well as some rookies, who have taken to debating like fish to water. They have all shown themselves to be impressive speakers with extensive knowledge.
They have made it through seven intellectually stimulating rounds, where they have debated a range of topics from, the necessity of taking risks, to the irrelevance of the monarchy. Each week they arrive at the venue and given the topic and stance of their debate. They have one hour to formulate their arguments and anticipate their foes before they enter the thunder-dome. Once the debate begins it becomes a clash of sharp tongues and sharper wit, and this team has more than proven they have the cutting edge. Their ability to parry their oppositions points of information’s (questions asked to throw the speaker off balance), whilst thrusting forward their own, has been one of the many highlights of watching their matches. Most importantly, after the dust has settled, the team is quick to congratulate the opposition -no matter the outcome- and offer a hand of friendship and support. They are the epitome of Grammar’s values. Despite having lost their latest debate, the team is only one point behind the leading teams, and with three rounds remaining in the competition it is theirs for the winning. Win or lose, the most important thing is that this team has enjoyed every match and their time together.
This term will also see the return of the Parliamentary Shield Competition (dates to confirmed), the Olympics of Debating in Launceston’s secondary schools. This is a two-day debating competition in which the competitors will be face off in impromptu debates which will cover a range of topics. If any senior Grammar students are interested in participating, please see Mr Smith in the English and Humanities staffroom for more information.
Phil Smith – Teacher of English and History
