Hutton Church of England Grammar School have won the National Final of the Institute of Ideas and Pfizer Debating Matters Competition 2009/10, which took place over three days at the Royal Society of Medicine in London from 2 - 4 July.

Winning all three of their debates across the weekend, the team impressed judges with their sound research and persuasive arguments. Speaking after judging one of the semi-final debates on secularism, award winning author Tom Holland said of the teams:

“I was hugely impressed by the debate. It just goes to show that there’s no limit on the age of people who can make you change your mind about issues.”

Other top-name judges at the final included: Paul Boateng, barrister and former cabinet minister; Julia Hobsbawm, Chief-Executive of Editorial intelligence Ltd; Frank Furedi, Professor of Sociology, University of Kent; Cathy Stephens, Director of Innovation, British Council; and Simon Wessely, Professor of Epidemiological and Liaison Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London.

Despite the disappointment at not winning overall, the seven other National Final teams all dusted themselves down and carried on contributing to the discussions throughout. A number of judges remarked how amazed they were by the enthusiasm that greeted the announcement of ‘audience questions’ in each debate. Frank Furedi, Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent said of the students:

“At Debating Matters you learn a lot. Not just from the kids but from the audience as well. It teaches you so much about your own arguments.”

Students were also eligible to win a ‘Honourable Mention’ or individual prize for their contributions to the weekends’ debates, with all of the teams impressing the Individual Judges throughout. As Adam Rawcliffe from Hutton remarked of his experience:

“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 fields relevant to the contemporary issues we discuss. It has really challenged me to open up to different ideas and I’ve changed my mind on a lot of things.”

Teams not only spoke in some fiery and hard-fought debates, but made some excellent contributions during the numerous extra-curricular activities that were organised across the final. At the Institute of Ideas ‘Question Time’ debate on the Saturday evening students turned the tables and interrogated an eminent panel – including science and mathematics TV presenter, Johnny Ball; journalist and blogger Sunny Hundal; Lib Dem spin doctor and journalist Jo Philips; and Leo Johnson, Partner, Sustainability and Climate Change team at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Speaking after the event, Johnny Ball said:

“It’s wonderful to be talking to sixth-formers trying like mad to be treated like adults. They are force-fed such doom and gloom through the education system and events like this help them break down and challenge this attitude.”

Teams and individuals also received some fantastic prizes. The winners, runners-up and semi-finalists have won £7000 worth of books and educational resources from Hodder Education; team prizes from the English National Opera, Chocolaterie Casemuir, Encyclopaedia Britannica; and magazine subscriptions to Prospect magazine. The ‘Best Individual’ of the weekend, Philip-Anthony Gardner from Latymer Upper School, will also be enjoying an evening at the opera with a friend; Adam Rawcliffe from Hutton Church of England Grammar School, winner of the ‘Highly Commended’ prize will be stacking up bookshelves having won £40 of book vouchers; and winner of the ‘Commended’ prize Jacob Reynolds from Queens’ School took home a copy of ‘Inside Anne’s House: an illustrated journey through Anne’s world’ from the Anne Frank Trust. The winning team were also presented with limited edition ‘Champions Hoddies’ and a beautiful glass trophy.

The Debating Matters team would like to thank all the judges and speakers who helped to make the weekend so challenging and stimulating for the students who attended, but most importantly we would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our sponsors and supporters for their commitment and belief in the Debating Matters Competition. Thanks to: Pfizer, Wellcome Trust, Hodder Education, Canterbury Christ Church Univeristy, Economic and Social Research Council, Eaga Plc, and the Medical Research Council.

Results

Winners: Hutton Church of England Grammar School, Preston

Runners up: Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Faversham

Semi finalist 1: Latymer Upper School, London

Semi finalist 2: Bournemouth School for Girls, Bournemouth

Individual Prizes:

Best Individual: Philip-Anthony Gardner, Latymer Upper School, London
Highly Commended: Adam Rawcliffe, Hutton Church of England Grammar School, Preston
Commended: Jacob Reynolds, Queens’ School, Bushey

Gina Owens Award: Isobel Bates, Kings Norton Girl’s School, Birmingham

Honourable Mentions: Eric Azizian (Bushey Meads), Alexandra Coles (Bournemouth School for Girls),Naim Latif (Gosforth High School), Laura Pritchard (King’s Norton Girls’ School), Raghd Rostom (Bournemouth School for Girls), Miriam Malek (Madras College), Nick Freeman (Latymer Upper School), Patrice Ellis (Hutton Church of England Grammar School) and Sian Reed (Queens’ School).

FURTHER HELP

For media enquiries about the Debating Matters National Final 2010 please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). National Final photography by Chris Sharp.