• Taylor

  Gunes Taylor

  Laboratory Assistant & DM Alumnus

  University of Oxford
  

  Gunes says of Debating Matters: “I first encountered Debating Matters as an AS level student from Weston College. It was one of the English teachers who suggested that it might be fun for a few of us, rounded up the more enthusiastic of us and herded us to our first qualifying round. Though that year we didn’t make it, the next we did. The national final came about and we were still riding high from our victory at the regional round, but a sense of perspective was given from the first day we arrived. The inspirational talks, the professionals responding to our probing questions and the sheer joy of verbal jousting with other young minds left quite a mark upon me, personally. I respect what Debating Matters is doing in it’s own quiet (well, not quite…) way. As a young person at the 2007 National Final I felt enthused to do something and that I wasn’t the only one, and as an alumnus I see it in the new contestants that come in through DM’s doors. They walk in seeing it as nothing but a competition, and they leave knowing that all concerned have gained something valuable- knowledge, understanding and in a peculiar fashion- solidarity.”

   

STAY IN CONTACT

Follow @debatingmatters

Subscribe to our regular newsletter or our RSS feed