An Excellent Year for Debating!
This academic year has been amazing for the RGS Debating Society, seeing them compete against many top Debating teams from across the country and reaching the final stages in regional, national and even international competitions. With lockdown an extra factor to negotiate and the majority of competitive Debates continuing online, RGS pupils have flourished, demonstrating great confidence and aptitude in their Debating skills. RGS Debating Society members enjoyed a well-deserved barbecue last week to celebrate their achievements. We thank RGS Debating coach, Ms Amber Warner-Warr and Head of Debating, Miss Jane Waller for their time, encouragement and commitment to Debating at RGS Worcester.
Please enjoy the following summary of the RGS Debating Society’s achievements this academic year.
Oxford University Schools Competition – Midlands round
The Midlands round of the Oxford University Schools’ competition is always incredibly competitive with RGS up against all of our local rivals such as Bromsgrove School, Solihull School and Trent College. Teams across the Midlands joined online for two rounds of Debating on Zoom, resulting in RGS Worcester taking three of the six places available for Oxford Finals’ Day. Congratulations to qualifiers, Upper Sixth students Max Houchin and Ella Marsay-Jones and Lower Sixth qualifying pairs; Elizabeth McCabe and James Preece and Katy Marsh and Kasia Czyrko.
Quarter-finalists at Oxford Finals Day
Over 130 of the best schools’ Debating teams from the UK and across the world then competed at Oxford Finals Day. Even in the face of such hugely stiff competition, Elizabeth McCabe and James Preece qualified for the quarter-finals in 14th place. The 16 top ranking pairs competed once again, including five international teams from Hong Kong, Slovenia, Ireland, India and Canada as well as three teams from St Paul’s Girls School, two from Eton and one from Westminster, Wellington, Dulwich, Sevenoaks and Debate Mate qualified alongside RGS. Sadly, we were knocked out by Eton and Dulwich in a closely-fought quarter-final, but qualifying to this stage was a magnificent achievement.
Finals Day at Cambridge University
RGS Worcester Senior Debaters once again enjoyed huge success, winning through to Finals Day in the Cambridge Schools competition. Across four rounds of Debating on Zoom, twenty-eight teams were vying for only three team slots on Cambridge Finals Day in March in the South West regional round. RGS rose magnificently to the occasion, taking a record-equalling two of the three places and relegating Wellington to the third spot. Congratulations on this outstanding achievement went to our Lower Sixth Debating pairs of Elizabeth McCabe and James Preece who qualified in first place, and were ranked fourth equal on the Speaker Table and to Kasia Czyrko and Katy Marsh who were second, with Kasia the third best speaker at the competition.
Open finalists at Birmingham, Warwick, Manchester and Nottingham
In 2020-21, RGS Worcester Debating pairs of James Preece, Elizabeth McCabe, Katy Marsh and Kasia Czyrko between them reached the Open Finals at Birmingham, Warwick, Manchester, meaning that RGS reached the final of every senior competition that we entered. Furthermore, Ella Gibbs and Emily Stanley won the Silver Final at Manchester and Max Houchin and Ella Marsay-Jones the Bronze Final at Birmingham.
Nottingham Schools – Open Champions
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. RGS 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!). James Preece and Elizabeth McCabe came second overall on the tab but 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”, according to the head judge.
Year Ten compete at International Competition for Young Debaters
Our younger debaters from Year Ten competed 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. However, Oscar Savory, Georgia Lee and Charlie Raven did reach the Regional Final of the English-Speaking Union’s Public Speaking competition.
Regional Final of the English-Speaking Union Mace
The Debating team of Elizabeth McCabe, Katy Marsh, Kasia Czyrko and James Preece qualified for the Regional Final of the English-Speaking Union Mace. This was a national competition where pupils prepared their arguments in advance, making seven-minute speeches. The only difference this year is that the debates were online via Zoom. Working with their coach, Amber Warner-Warr, the team won through, having proposed the motion given to them that This House would ban job applicants from disclosing the names of educational institutions that they have attended.
Historical Association Great Debate
Back in January 2020, Sixth Form Student, Zain Baig qualified for the national finals of the Historical Association Great Debate with his speech on the Crusades. This was in response to the question posed by the Historical Association – ‘Should we judge historical figures by the morals of today?’
The lockdown in the spring meant that the final at Windsor Castle was unable to go ahead, however in the autumn, the finalists competed online. Speeches were pre-recorded for the judges, with searching questions then being asked of each student in turn via Zoom. This was a memorable evening with an exciting range of topics and ideas explored. Congratulations to Zain, who produced a fascinating speech about the Crusades, demonstrating his historical knowledge and superb presentation skills.
