Lord Speaker chairs 2016 schools' debate final
27 May 2016 (updated on 31 May 2016)
The Lord Speaker, Baroness D'Souza, chaired the Debate Mate Urban Debate League Final on Monday 23 May in the House of Lords.
The Lord Speaker announced the opening and closing speakers in the final and, following the debate, gave a short congratulatory speech about the value and importance to young people of learning and enjoying their debating skills.
Debate Mate looks to boost young people's confidence in expressing themselves and the Urban League Debating Final was the climax of a programme for secondary school children which began in January 2016.
Students aged 12-15 from over 200 schools competed for a place in the final debate, hosted in a House of Lords committee room.
The two schools contesting the final were:
- St Angela’s Ursuline School, Forest Gate, East London
- The Greycoat Hospital School, Westminster
The motion was “This House believes that the government should censor the media in times of war”; St. Angela’s Ursuline School spoke for the motion, the Greycoat Hospital School spoke against.
There were four speakers on both the proposition and opposition teams, who alternated giving five minute speeches, before the debate was opened up to the floor for questions to be addressed during the summing up speeches. Greycoat Hospital School were judged the winners.
After the debate the Lord Speaker congratulated the winners with a short speech.
About Debate Mate
Debate Mate runs after school debating clubs in areas of high child poverty with students from the top universities as mentors. They use debating to develop communication, interpersonal skills and to build self-esteem. Over 4,000 young people take part in Debate Mate programmes around the UK every week.