By Lewhat Yosief, Year 10

On the 19th of September, my sister Salem and I, along with a few other Notting Hill girls, attended the virtual St. Paul’s Girls’ School Women’s Open Virtual Debate debating tournament.

The tournament was held online and although Salem had some experience of British Parliamentary debating, I hadn’t. The ways in which the speeches were structured, meant that you needed to know what you were required to say and when you had to say it, and although you may be arguing for or against the same motion as another pair, you are ultimately against them. There were three rounds and after the registrations and briefings we began!

After being given the motion/statement and position we were going to argue, we had 15 minutes to prepare what we were going to say, however the time went much faster than I would have liked. I was very nervous to talk, especially after hearing all the other girls talk so eloquently, but I stuck to my points, and let my speech flow. We placed 3rd in the first round, and then moved onto the second.

The motions did not get specifically easier or harder to talk about, but the ways in which we spoke became more fluent and well thought out. I struggled to come up with points in our allocated time, but as soon as I began my speech, I immediately began thinking on my feet, explaining and justifying all the points I had just made. This round was considerably better than the first, simply because I had gained confidence, and a little taste as to how it worked. We placed 2nd and were very pleased with ourselves.

The final round, was again difficult to come up with points beforehand, but when it was my turn to speak, the points that needed to be said came to me, now it was only a matter of wording it in a way that not only made sense, but also convinced our judge that my argument was best. Both Salem and I spoke much better in the final round: we were more self-assured and allowed our words to speak for themselves. We were pleasantly surprised and ended up scoring 1st in our final round.

I came out of the competition a lot more confident in my opinions/arguments than I went in, and not only gained the experience of having to process instantaneous thoughts on the spot, but also learned to present them in a convincing, fluent way. This was an amazing way to build public speaking and debating skills and would recommend it all, however confident or experienced you are. Although this was only one competition, it is safe to say that I am a lot more sure about my debating skills, and am excited to get involved in many more debating/public speaking opportunities.

Of the four teams, NHEHS Public Speaking and Debating Lead Miss Gordon said “The teams spoke with real passion and expressed thoughtful views, challenging the arguments of others in a tolerant yet pertinent way.  Congratulations to all eight girls!”

Well done to all four NHEHS teams who debated on the following motions:  

THW not allow unvaccinated children to attend state schools.

THB religious organisations should implement gender balance for positions of spiritual leadership.

THBT the school strikes for climate change have done more harm than good.

Team 1 – Esmee & Anouska (Y12)

Team 2 – Milan & Evangeline (Y10)

Team 3 – Lewhat (Y10) & Salem (Y9)

Team 4 – Alexandra & Niamh (Y8)