Debut Win For Stockport Academy Debate Team
Our debate team took part in its first ever debating tournament, coming away with a couple of impressive wins in the process!
Students in Years 7, 8 and 9 attended the Debate Mate Urban Debate League at Manchester Enterprise Academy (MEA), with four Stockport Academy teams going up against peers from MEA, Manchester Academy, Reddish Vale and Trinity C of E.
Groups went head to head on two issues – ‘Should adverts be allowed to target under-16s?’ and ‘Should police have access to our online data?’ with opposing teams being told which side of the debate they would be representing. They then had 10 minutes to prepare their case, with each student speaking for three minutes to cover their own part of the argument.
The winner of each debate is chosen by an independent judge, who marks each team on their style, content, clarity and how their case is structured, with one of our teams winning both of their debates!
Stockport Academy Literacy Co-ordinator Mrs Sealy, who runs Debate Club, said: “This was a brilliant introduction to competitive debating and I am so proud of every single student for taking part.
“Debating improves confidence, self-esteem, communication skills and ultimately if you can debate then you have every chance of doing well in your exams – it’s all about putting forward a convincing argument.
“Our next competition is at the start of March and we already can’t wait to go back!”