The three-day residential final, held at the Royal Society of Medicine, London, saw eight schools from across the UK – from an original intake of 192 in the autumn of 2010 – debating cutting-edge contemporary issues such as: ‘Wikileaks is good for democracy’, ‘We should embrace the use of smart drugs’ and ‘No prisoner should get the vote’.

SFX students, participating in the competition for the first time, won all three rounds in the knock-out competition, successfully taking on Dalriada School from Ballymoney, in the final debate by arguing for the motion ‘European Countries should follow France’s lead and ban the burqa’. The icing on the cake for the St. Francis Xavier team came when it was announced that debater Matthew Handley also won the ‘Best Individual’ award – and was praised by judges for an ‘outstanding’ individual performance across the three days. One judge, children’s writer and educationalist K.A.S Quinn predicted that:

“we shall see Matthew as a party leader one day!”

Matthew said of the event:

“We had to fight for the title, in the final debate the audience in particular put us under a great deal of pressure, but we did it. We were absolutely delighted to win, even more so given that we were up against be against such strong opponents in Dalriada. It was really intellectually stimulating but also a lot of fun. Through Debating Matters we got to meet other motivated, intelligent young people as well as lots of important experts working in field.”

Matthew’s team mate Daniel Keeley also won an ‘Honourable Mention’ from the judges. The team of four – Matthew Oldham, Daniel Keeley, Jonathan Mitchell and Matthew Handley - have won £2000 worth of books and resources for the school library from Hodder Education and some impressive prizes for themselves, including a ticket to the English National Opera, a sixth month subscription to The Week and an Encylopaedia Britannica world atlas. Most importantly the team have won an all expenses paid trip to London for the acclaimed Battle of Ideas festival, where the team will take on the winners of the Debating Matters India Competition.

Teacher Clare Boughey, who coached the team to victory, said:

“I am so proud of the team – this is just phenomenal! Throughout the final they kept their cool and stuck to their guns. They did a brilliant job.”

Melanie Knetsch, Deputy Head of Communications and Public Engagement at Economic and Social Research Council, which sponsors the competition congratulated the winners and said:

“The Debating Matters Competition has given many young people the opportunity to look at social questions and debate issues which will enable them to become more engaged citizens.”

Raymond Tallis, Professor Emeritus of Geriatric Medicine and Consultant Physician, University of Manchester, who judged at the event, said:

“The Debating Matters National Final is always an inspiring experience. To see young people at their articulate best, debating over issues of the first importance is a joy and gives you hope for the future.”

Anthony Horowitz, writer, who judged during the weekend said:

“Judging was an intense and thoroughly fascinating experience. I came to the event expecting to be out-smarted by the other judges, but to find that the students were cleverer than us was a shock! The teams were wonderful and I was blown away by their arguments.”

Debating Matters is no ordinary debating competition. Renowned for being ‘the toughest debating competition in the country’ debaters were grilled by an audience of fellow students and a formidable panel of expert judges, who scrutinised their arguments to ensure they’ve done their research, prioritising substance over style. Alongside the debates, students attended ‘expert witness’ seminars and a specially-organised ‘Question Time’ event featuring high profile speakers. Top name judges included:  Luke Johnson, a leading businessman; Beeban Kidron, film and documentary director; Gill Penlington, Executive Editor, Connect the World, CNN; Kim Knott, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Leeds.

FURTHER HELP

Notes for Editors
(1) The National Final of the Institute of Ideas Debating Matters Competition 2009/10 took place at the Royal Society of Medicine, London, Friday 1 – Sunday 3 July 2011.
(2) Schools that debated in the final are: The Burgate School and Sixth Form Centre, Fordingbridge; Chilwell School, Nottingham; Dalriada School, Ballymoney; Durham Johnston Comprehensive School, Durham; Godalming College, Surrey; The Ridgeway School, Swindon; St Francis Xavier’s College, Liverpool; Uppingham School, Oakham
(3) Years 12 and 13 sixth form students take part (16-19 year olds).
(4) The Institute of Ideas Debating Matters Competition is supported by a Wellcome Trust Engaging Science Society Award. The ESRC sponsors the Central and North West & North Wales Regions.
(5) Full details of the programme for the event, including all the debate motions and Topic Guides, can be found here. For further information about the competition, go to www.debatingmatters.com. To interview students, teachers, judges and other participants, please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 020 7269 9232

Notes for Photo Editors
St. Francis Xavier’s College team L-R: Daniel Keeley, Matthew Oldham, Jonathan Mitchell, teacher Claire Boughey, Matthew Handley.