THE B6 DEBATING SOCIETY CELEBRATES SUCCESS IN PRESTIGIOUS COMPETITION

The Sixth Form Debating Society recently celebrated success in the prestigious English Speaking Union’s Schools' 11-18 Mace following an external heat (debate) on Zoom against Bury Grammar School.

Aimun Tala, Radiance Adegboyegal and Ushnah Durrani presented for the proposition arguing that e-sports/games are not real sports. The hard work of the students paid off as they are now through to the next round in the New Year. The students' commitment in preparing for this debate and their engagement in the process showed utmost professionalism and dedication. Worthy mention of the other members of the Debating Society should also be given, particularly the other members of the Debating Society as they took the opportunity via internal heats and extra coaching sessions to support the team with preparing arguments and speeches as they practiced potential rebuttals and points of information.  

 Speaking of the Debating Society, the students said:

"The debate last week was a fun and new experience where I understood how formal debaters actually prepare for debates and how they present it. The Debating Society in general is a wonderful opportunity for me to freely express my thoughts and opinions on certain topics." ~Ushnah Durrani  

“I always wanted to try and see if I would be good at debating, never having the opportunity to do so before. The Debating Society enrichment has afforded me the chance to grow and test my oracy skills.”  ~ Debating Society member

‘Debating Society has been such a great way for me to gain confidence when speaking to a group of people, it has helped me develop great skills that have carried over to my other subjects. It’s also a lot of fun to take part in the debates we have because they’re always interesting and it makes you want to get involved’  Aimun Talal

Lee Dickson, Teacher of Religious Studies, who leads the Debating Society was really impressed with the students saying: 

“This really was a team effort. I am so proud of all the debaters and those who helped prepare the team, particularly my second-years who applied their knowledge and experience gained over the last year to provide expert coaching and insights to the team. Well done to Radiance, Aimun and Ushnah who engaged with an unknown topic and took ownership of it, creating salient and positive lines of argumentation in support of the motion.”

The debating society is a bespoke training opportunity open to any student to develop critical thinking and employability skills, honing in on the art of persuasion, command of logic and reasoning and research, interpersonal and collaboration skills to help our learners be world ready.

Everyone at B6 wishes the team the best of luck for the round in the New Year. We can’t wait to heat how they get on.

Find out more about the ESU Schools' Mace here https://www.esu.org/competitions/schools-mace/