The annual COBIS World Debate competition was held in Dubai this year and hosted by Jumeirah College. 6 members of BSN Speech and Debate travelled out to compete against other international schools. They were looking forward to a weekend of reuniting with old friends, making new ones and great debating!
The team had worked hard for their two prepared debates. The motions tackled contemporary issues and challenged us to think creatively about how we might respond. The first explored the idea that poor teaching is to blame for poor exam performance while the other looked at the possible risks of artificial intelligence. Both created the right amount of controversy for an excellent debate!
Our students were tremendous, going from strength to strength throughout the competition. The days were very busy with students competing in four debates on both days. Only two were prepared motions meaning that for most debates the students were given the topic and just one hour to prepare for their next encounter. They relished the opportunity to go head to head with a variety of teams, often picking up on skills or tactics that they had seen and incorporating them into their later debates.
The first day finished with a showcase debate where the 8 best speakers were chosen from across different schools. One of our Year 11 students, Alasdair, was chosen to be part of the opposition team, arguing against the idea that beauty is only skin deep, and the rest of the team cheered him on with pride.
The competition ended with a very competitive final debate. Our students were outstanding: articulate, commanding and thoughtful, they demonstrated excellent engagement with the motion and superb teamwork.
They are enormously proud of the whole team who are already talking about next year’s competition!
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