When Miss Esther first announced the 2026 online Debate Competition against several schools across Europe and chose the four of us to represent the school, we were absolutely ecstatic! We all share a huge passion for speaking and debating, so being given the chance to show everyone what we could do as a team was incredibly exciting.
Preparation
Even though we had been learning about how debating works and good vocabulary to help us, we were only given the debate topics one single week before the actual debate, which meant we had to work extra hard. We practised during our lunch breaks and hopped on Zoom calls after school to work through our speeches chunk by chunk. Even though Miss Esther helped us prepare our debate arguments, it was definitely a bit stressful but it was also fun and memorable. We learned to find a way to make things work together – even when it seemed impossible!
Sorting the Topics
We had two major topics to prepare:
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This House Believes That Technology Is Improving People’s Lives. (We were in favour)
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This House Believes That Humans Should Continue To Develop Space Exploration With The Goal Of Inhabiting Mars.
We knew our first debate would be against Runnymede College, but the finals were a total mystery! We did not know if we would make the finals but we had to prepare, just in case. We didn’t know if we would be “for” or “against” for the Mars topic. So, to be safe, we spent heaps of time writing arguments for both sides just in case we made it through. In the end we wrote 3 debates in 1 week!
Debate Day!
We gave it our all in our debate. Miss Esther was not there on the day because she was with the Year 6 residential. However, she left us an encouraging message and Miss Sarah was there to support us on the day. As they announced the finalists, we all held hands, hoping for the best. We won our debate against Runnymede! Suddenly and we got enough points to get into the finals against King’s College Sotto, debating against the inhabitation of Mars—which was perfect because we loved our “against” arguments!
We debated with so much confidence and joy and we are happy to announce that we won 2nd place! We are incredibly proud of the amazing accomplishments we made together from day one to day seven.
The Year 6 Debate Team (Anna, Ariela, Theo and Sasha)
Ariela V.
My experience was fun. I was happy that I was able to take part in it with my friends. I was slightly anxious before but it felt better when we finished. When we found out that we got through to the finals we were all cheering and laughing from happiness.
Theo C.
It was an extremely memorable and thrilling adventure. The feeling of getting second place was unforgettable. The final was tight, nevertheless we came in second place. I will never forget the experience. I hope the competition continues for next year’s Year 6s.
Anna T.
The debate competition was an unforgettable experience. I made new friends and being in second place was and still is a huge honour. It was a new experience for me and I really enjoyed it.
Sasha D.
The debate was an astonishing experience. I was nervous from the start of the preparations right up to the point where we found out we were in the finals, which in itself was astonishing. This debate was truly the highlight of the year and something I enjoyed every part of.
