Sixth Formers impress at Cambridge Schools' Debating Finals Day

Two Shrewsbury pupils recently attended the Cambridge Schools’ Debating Final Day, competing against schools from across the globe.  

Matthew W (SH, LVI) and Alanood A (MSH, LVI) had an early start as they travelled down to the Cambridge Union last Saturday. Matthew has written about their time in the competition: 

Following Lulu and Bea's trip to Oxford schools' debating competition final day where they performed well placing 65th out of 115 teams, Alanood and I were pleased to be heading to the Cambridge Union after having landed second in the regionals.  

We faced off much more highly-experienced teams and well-established debating schools both in the UK and internationally - including national team members. Unlike Shrewsbury’s house debating, in the national rounds four pairs instead of two teams compete in each debate and we were only given 15 minutes to prepare without the internet once the motion is released. 

 Despite being called finals’ day, there were four preliminary rounds to select the top four teams amongst all the finalists for the Grand Final. During the four rounds of debating, we considered a range of motions from ‘This House Would Defund the Police’ to ‘This House Prefers a World with No Restrictions on Immigration’.  

We competed with excellent teams with many from around the world, including pairs who had flown in from India and Tunisia, as well as many UK schools such as Westminster, Godolphin and Latymer and Wycombe Abbey.  

Although we didn’t break after the fourth preliminary round - where the grand finalists were South Hampstead High School, St Paul’s School, St Paul’s Girls’ School and eventual winners St. Robert Catholic High School from Canada - we were happy to gain valuable experience against such experienced debaters. As the first pair from Shrewsbury to qualify for finals’ day in this tournament’s history, it was an honour to compete.  

We achieved encouraging results: 

Team-wise, we ranked 65th overall, achieving 583 speaker points (72%), just edging out by a small margin Westcliff High School for Boys, although a comfortable 12 points ahead of the 67th place Godolphin and Latymer. This meant we were just 32 points from qualifying for the open semi-final. 

In terms of individual-performance, given the significant numbers of overseas schools and international students studying in UK schools competing in finals’ day, there was an English as a Second Language (ESL) speaker category for those who had not been in an English school in the past 4 years. There I was happy to place in the top 10 and Alanood came 12th. 

 This year, the Shrewsbury Debating Team have made school history by qualifying for the national finals of a debating competition. Not only did we qualify for the national finals but it was the two most prestigious competitions in the country - Oxford and Cambridge Schools’.  

The experience of competing at such a high level has only deepened our appreciation for debating. Alanood and I have also learned many new skills and met many inspiring counterparts. While we may not have broken into the final rounds this time, we are already looking ahead to next year with the hope of replicating this year’s success. Beyond just the competition itself, it was incredibly enjoyable working alongside Alanood, and I’m grateful for the teamwork and learning we’ve shared.