Senior pupils formed three teams in Wednesday evening’s Oxford Union debating competition. This is gruelling and demanding debating with two back-to-back debates contested over 4 hours in a four-way contest in the British Parliamentary Style.

With only 15-minutes preparation time before the debating begins, each pair has to plan their speeches without any access to research materials. Twenty-eight teams from across East Anglia took part and the two motions were This House regrets the widespread expectation to attend university and Assuming the technology exists, this House would permanently remove the ability of soldiers to experience fear. 

To spend four hours locked in intense debating was a hard ask after a full day of online school. Many congratulations to the three Gresham’s teams that took part and who performed so well both in their main speeches and with Points of Information. One Gresham’s team made up of Dally and Nikita was selected as one of the five best at the competition and will now attend the national finals in Oxford.