Autumn Debating
It has been another busy term for debating as we continue to encourage pupils at South Hampstead – and beyond – to find their voice.
At the start of term, we were recognised as the best school in the UK for pupil voice, praised for instilling girls with the self-belief to navigate the world with confidence. Our novice and experienced debaters have had a great start to the year at a range of competitions, including the first round of the ESU Mace, Edinburgh Juniors, UCL, Dulwich Schools and LSE, with several victories in Silver/Gold finals. Following a rigorous weekend of trials, two of our top orators, Sixth Formers Olivia and Eleanor, have qualified for Debate England’s 2024/25 squad; 14 orators will now train together, before the final team of five is selected to compete on the world stage in Panama next July.
Our award-winning Debate Hub programme not only builds the oracy skills of our own pupils, but also empowers hundreds of young people across the UK to listen to, engage with, and debate different viewpoints. Funded by donors, our Debate Hub website launched a year ago and now provides a wealth of resources for school teachers, including lesson plans, motions, videos and podcast episodes. Debate Hub also hosts dozens of competitions each year, including the UK’s biggest Junior School event – this term’s featured over 550 speeches by more than 100 local state school pupils in Years 5/6, who came up with some wonderfully innovative team names, from the Persuasion Prodigies to the Debate Dynamos! Other highlights of the term have included a popular event in partnership with Sex Ed Matters, with our Senior School pupils joining girls and boys from a range of local schools to discuss taboo topics with maturity and confidence. On the penultimate weekend of term, we hosted the biggest one-day schools’ competition in the UK, welcoming 248 debaters from 25 schools, who gave over 1000 speeches over the course of the day. Up against some of London’s top debating schools, our pupils won the Year 7 to 10 Juniors Stream and the Seniors Stream silver final – well done to Julia in Year 10 and Lakshanaa in Year 9 and Sixth Formers, Molly and Olivia!
Next term, Debate Hub is running more clubs, coaching sessions and competitions as well as a new programme of free Saturday sessions with an expert coach for state school pupils in Years 7 to 9 – find out more here. If you are interested in supporting Debate Hub, or booking a corporate training session for your workplace, please get in touch: m.hepburn@shhs.gdst.net