Success at Cambridge Debate Competition

Our junior debating squads achieved impressive success at the ICYD despite this being the first competition for many of them. Berkhamsted had more top ten speakers than any other school.

Recently, our junior debating squads took to Cambridge University to take part in regional rounds of the International Competition for Young Debaters. For 7 out of the 8 teams, this was their first debate competition, but the quality of debating and public speaking would have anybody fooled. Our pupils were Adventurous, and Aimed High with Integrity to achieve some impressive results in the competition.

Despite the fact that most competing pairs were Year 9 or Year 10, we had multiple Year 8 groups stepping up to compete. Jessie H and Matilda B finished 11th, and Charlie H and Sam T finished 12th overall, which is a wonderful achievement for a young group at their first competition. We’re proud of how these pupils took the leap to get involved, and their success promises big things for the future of Berkhamsted debating!

Particular congratulations go to Holly F and Lottie L, who finished 5th out of 36 teams and miss out on the International finals by 1 point out of 600! Individually, Holly finished 3rd, and Lottie 8th out of the 72 speakers competing, which is an incredible achievement speaking to the girls’ tenacity, hard work and oracy.

Lottie wrote about her experience at the competition:

On the 31st of January, we had the incredible opportunity to debate at the Cambridge Union on the university campus as part of the ICYD competition. The day consisted of three debates, in which we were given individual scores and speaker points which determined who we debated in the next round. The day gave us the incredible experience to explore the union and the city of Cambridge, which was very inspiring, whilst also gaining feedback on speeches from students who had taken part in the same competition when they were in our position.

We debated a wide range of subjects:

• This house believes that doctors should make children’s important medical decisions, not parents.
• This house would ban the payment of ransoms.
• This house does not support the portrayal of antiheros in the media.

This diverse range of topics were exciting because both my partner and I had different strengths which we could apply to the different motions. We worked as a great team and got through an entire packet of sticky notes by passing thoughts, notes, and Points of Information throughout the debate! We felt as if we tried our absolute hardest and when the results were announced, our immediate reaction was to celebrate and give each other high fives since we could not believe that we came in the top 5… however, we soon realised that we had missed out on the final by 1/600 possible speaker points – which just shows how close we came! We are the first reserve team if any other team drops out. So, we are keeping our fingers crossed – the final would be the 2nd of May.

It was an amazing day, and I got to spend with my friends and my sister as well which just made everything even more enjoyable!

Debating is very important. It builds confidence, public speaking skills, and the ability to work under high amounts of pressure, and so I would highly encourage it to anyone who has the opportunity!

At the end of the competition, Berkhamsted had more top ten speakers than any other School. This speaks to our pupil’s confidence, oracy skills and academic capability.

Well done to every pupil who took part, and we’ll listen out for the reserve call…