A Good Day for Debating: Open Champions!
Once again, the RGS Worcester Debating Society has achieved success, winning Nottingham Schools during Half term.
At the Nottingham Schools Competition 2021 held online, nearly 40 teams from across the country competed across four rounds to be one of the top four pairs and gain a place in the Open Final. RGSW astoundingly took two of the places in that Final, against a Solihull School team and a St Paul’s Girls’ School team from London (while a third RGS team was fifth, just missing out!). The Final motion was, ‘When building new housing developments, this House prefers communal green spaces over private gardens’. James Preece and Elizabeth McCabe came second overall but I am delighted to say that another RGSW pair won! Debating together for the first time this year, the Lower Sixth pair of James Parkinson and Kathryn Shaw were crowned Open Champions of Nottingham Schools 2021, a unanimous decision by the judges after ‘some stunning debating’ (head judge).
This comes two weeks after Elizabeth McCabe and James Preece had also reached the Open Final at Manchester Schools, while Ella Gibbs and Emily Stanley in the Upper Sixth had won the Silver Final (for teams placed fifth to eighth). The Senior Society has consistently shown real strength and depth this year!
Our younger debaters from Year Ten also competed over Half term in the regional round of the International Competition for Young Debaters. Although RGS did not break to the Finals Day, all four pairs debated well and very much enjoyed the event. We are looking forward to seeing them in action again in a few weeks in their Regional Final for the Public Speaking competition.
Congratulations to the winning debaters and good luck to the Sixth Form debaters for events over the next few weeks – Oxford and Cambridge Finals Days, as well as Durham Schools.
Miss Jane Waller
Head of Debating