Debating in English

This term, the English Department, in collaboration with the Debating society, have been busy considering the way we construct arguments, and in particular, ones that pack a punch with conviction and clarity. The culmination of this was the Fifth and Sixth Form Inter-House Balloon Debate, on Wednesday 9 March in the Big School Room.   

The premise of a Balloon Debate is simple: the audience and participating debaters are asked to suspend their disbelief and imagine they are in a sinking balloon, bound for a new world. The job of our esteemed Upper Sixth Chair panel - to decide which of our House teams, each playing a famous group of people, will stay on the balloon, journeying to ‘found’ our new civilisation. Each team were given several rounds to prove themselves, either in prepared speeches or free debate. With several rounds of audience voting, and fraught discussion among the judges, a final Debate motion was posed to our three remaining Houses, with a tight battle commencing for the winning vote.  

From The Digby’s persistent Penguins of Madagascar to the witty barbs of our handymen from The Green, we truly saw it all. The Upper Sixth boys judged with insight, and Abbeylands emerged victorious, with Finn Grammaticas (U6f), Charlie Collinge (U6f), Jacob Schwandt (U6f) and Harry Trudgeon (L6f) acting as the Simpson family. Special mention must go to Harper’s Will Jonas (U6d) for his rather phenomenal Jeremy Clarkson impression! An eventful evening of debate, and something we hope to see return to the English Department in further terms.   

Bryony Watts, English Teacher