On 25 th January, Year 11 students Amy Jones and James Watt competed in the Oxford Union Schools Debating Competition and gained a place in the UK finals held at the Oxford Debating Union at Oxford University. Four other Y Pant students competed in the regionals but unfortunately did not make it through to the next round, despite giving exceptional debating performances.

Matthew Knight and Matthew Ingram carried a typically forceful yet light-hearted tone in their debates, which has now become a staple of their style. Zoe Morgan and Martha Reed, who were both relatively inexperienced debaters, put in an eloquent and composed effort. In particular, Martha Reed (one of the youngest debaters alongside Matthew Ingram) dispatching students three or four years her senior with excellent rebuttal.

The night consisted of two debates with the motions (topics) being ‘This house would legalise prostitution’ and ‘This house would cease to trade with countries who refuse to curb their carbon emissions’. Each debate followed the standard British parliamentary format, with eight speakers (four teams of pairs) competing. The topics of discussion are revealed 15 minutes prior to the debate; this short time frame encourages ‘on-the-fly’ thinking and spontaneous discussion.

The event, hosted by Rougemont School in Newport, was great success for Y Pant as Amy and James secured one of just five places in the final from the Welsh region. It was an excellent achievement and their debating on the night was top-rate. Adjudicators commented on their fluidity in speaking and their strong argument structure; also mentioning both of their abilities to handle and rebutt opponents’ attacks on their speeches.

“It was a great night, the competition was strong and the debates were really intense and intellectually stimulating,” James commented, “I really love the thrill of rebutting opponents and thinking of arguments under such pressure.” These debates are an excellent platform for young people to showcase their speaking talents and to voice their opinions on current affairs and matters which are generally seen as being for the older generation. It also garners experience for the students involved and is a great addition to a university application or CV.

James and Amy will be heading to Oxford in March to compete against finalists from the whole of the United Kingdom in what is the most prestigious schools debating competition in the world. We look forward to seeing how they get on and wish all of the Y Pant debaters luck in their future endeavours.