On 18 January, three Year 11 students represented The Forest Academy in the second round of the English Speaking Union’s Mace Debate. This is a national competition and one of the longest-running in the country.
The motion was ‘This House Believes that schools should focus on maximising students’ value to the modern workplace over a broad and balanced education’. Tyler Haider, Raluca Ifrim and Mariam Attarwala presented the opposition. They spent weeks, through their Christmas holiday and mock exams, preparing their argument. It was well-researched; they took a philosophical approach which explored Aristotle, Socrates and Plato, as well as modern views such as the impact of green industries and AI.
The competition across all six schools was fierce. All were excellent orators, some schools clearly showing a wealth of experience in debate. Even though The Forest Academy was not selected to move forward, Tyler, Raluca and Mariam said they learnt a lot from the experience and were glad they had done it. Mrs Howlett, who guided them through the competition, was incredibly proud of not just their hard work going into the competition, but also the way they conducted themselves during it. The team was also supported by several students behind-the-scenes who helped with research and speech-writing: Letizia Colombi, Cassidy Smith, Vilius Budrys and Zain Litt.
The two schools selected (Southend School for Boys and King Edward VI Grammar School) were inspiring and worthy winners. Our debating team look forward to following their progress.
FIND OUT MORE – https://www.esu.org/competitions/schools-mace/
