On Thursday, the first-ever Bellevue Seniors Debating Competition was held at Ealing Independent College, featuring six teams from the host school, Farlington School and Sherfield School.
Teams of three had to argue for or against topics which ranged from the virtues of abolishing the monarchy to whether the UK should be more like the USA. An incredibly close competition led to the advancement of two sides - the senior groups from Ealing and Farlington. Ealing had successfully negotiated a passage to the final by winning their debates on the virtues of vegetarianism and the rehabilitation of murderers, while Farlington performed excellently in debates on whether Briatin should rejoin the EU and the viability of a manned mission to Mars.
Debates were heated throughout, but completed in the right spirit.
The final, with the topic presented to the students only 40 minutes before the debate itself, was contested to an excellent standard of both sides. A topical subject - the awarding of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar - was the issue. The teams from Ealing and Farlington covered multiple facets of the argument: corruption; climate; the availability of alcohol; human rights; migrant workers; infrastructure investment; economic viability.
The ability of the students on both sides to prepare themselves so well in so little time was quite astounding.
In the end, Farlington emerged victorious - but it was hotly contested.
Our students can’t wait for the next edition of the tournament.