Schools’ Mace Debating Competition Success
25th November 21
On Tuesday this week, two DLD College London debating teams competed in the first round of the Schools’ Mace Competition. This is the oldest and largest debating competition for schools in England and students in Years 7 to 13, organised by the English-Speaking Union. We were treated to intellectually stimulating debate from all schools.
The first debate took place between Westminster School and Francis Holland School who argued the pros and cons of “artists have a moral duty to be political in their work”.
This was followed by Sarah S, Arti B and Vlad M from DLD, proposing that “Fathers should be required to take Paternity Leave”. Sarah, our first speaker, quickly defined the topic and was adept at deflecting points of information from The Grey Coat Hospital who were opposing us. Arti, as second speaker, was commended on his successful rebuttal of their argument as well as his successful argument of the impact of implementing required paternity leave. Finally, Vlad wrapped up the argument with an excellent summary, highlighting the points of clash and why we should win the debate. The judges agreed as it was announced we had won this debate.
Our second team took part in the final debate against Thames Christian School where this time we opposed the motion that “Fines for civil and criminal offences should be made proportionate to the wealth of the offender.” The judges commented on how much thought had gone into Noelle’s speech as well as her clear and relevant examples which provided further evidence to support the team’s overall debate. Deepika was told she had an excellent speech and the judges also emphasised how her delivery was well paced. Furthermore, the judges commented that her rebuttal was good and addressed all the core ideas of the proposing team. Arnav wrapped up with a succinct but relevant summary and this team too won their debate.
There is all round congratulations and excitement to both teams as we move forward to the next round in January.
Janette Winnick, Psychology Teacher
