On the 18th and 22nd of November, 12 students from our courageous, compassionate community took part in their first public speaking and debate competition on the national stage, as part of an annual series of events hosted by the English-speaking union.
The event itself allowed our students to engage in the ancient art of rhetoric; the ability to debate, persuade, argue, and bring to life the very minds of our excellent students.
On the 18th of November, Ark Bolingbroke's brilliant year 10s, Phoebe, Bethia, Mila, Melia and Aiya took part in their first formal debate. The debate itself ran for almost one hour, and involved an opening position, a rebuttal speaker and a summary speaker. They argued fiercely, effectively and with great poise against students who were in sixth form. They were praised as being one of the strongest new teams the judges had seen and barely missed out on qualification against veteran opposition. They all demonstrated a vast amount of independence in taking responsibility for their own learning, preparation and practice. We are so proud of what they have all achieved and we all cannot wait to see what lies in their future.
On the 22nd Of November seven more of our students across year 9 and 10 took part in the first formal speaking competition. The two teams were comprised of Rubi, Coco, Ella and Shasmeen from Year 9. Sakeena, Eleanor and Adam from Year 10. Adam and Rubi took the role of speaker, which required them to present a speech on two different topics. “The ends don’t justify the means” by Adam and “The Stigma surrounding mental health must be addressed” by Rubi. They argued passionately and with great poise. We cannot commend them enough for their courage and excellence.
Both speakers received high praise from the judges with Rubi being selected as Best Co-Speaker on the night. Our Chair-people, Coco and Sakeena took the reins of hosting their own part of the night; introducing members, selecting questioning, concluding and summarising both positions whilst also making their event enjoyable for all. Sakeena and Coco showed their own personalities and allowed us all to enjoy the evening. Coco was selected as the best Chairperson on the evening. Ella and Eleanor took the role of questioner. Their astuteness and clarity with which they asked their questions allowed the speakers they were engaged with to discuss and enhance their own views to the benefit of all of us.
All the students who took part have all demonstrated every part of the Bolingbroke mantra, and they have represented themselves and their community in the best possible light. We want to also give further praise to Rubi, Ella, Shasmeen and Coco for proceeding to the next round of the competition which will be held in January.
Overall, every student took part in weeks of research and preparation. All our young learners have shown a desire to keep this debating and speaking streak alive at Bolingbroke! We will be looking into hosting events after the Christmas break. If you are interested, please do find Mr. Tanveer.
Well done to you all!