At the end of March, two amazing Eltham College Year 12 debating teams (Mirianna and Alex,  Oliver and Stanley) travelled to Durham University for the annual Durham Schools Debating Competition, the world’s largest residential school-level debating event, with over 70 teams from over 20 schools competing.

On the first day, the teams debated motions including sportspeople prolonging their competitive careers beyond the usual age of retirement; the rise of influencers; whether films and TV shows that use AI technologies should be eligible for awards and how governments might prioritise policies aligned with Buen Vivir. On the second day, the teams debated topics including judicial activism and whether the interim government in Syria should call an immediate election.

After five qualifying rounds across the two days, one of our teams broke into the Novice Semi-Finals! The Semi-Finals were highly competitive, with the motion set as ‘THBT the environmental movement should advocate for veganism over vegetarianism.’ The team delivered excellent speeches, only to narrowly miss out on a place in the Grand Final. A huge congratulations to Mirianna and Alex on this achievement and to all our speakers for their high calibre speeches.