DEBATING
In the Imperial Schools debating competition Aashi Kotecha and Kieran Kiggell came sixth and were named joint sixth best speaker and joint tenth best speaker , respectively . Our novice teams also did well in the competition . Teniola Bankole-Olusina and Fenton Davoren qualified to take part in the novice final . At the end of the competition Lilli Ganzer was named third best novice speaker , Mominn Nawaz sixth best novice speaker and Fenton seventh best novice speaker .
Debating thrives throughout lockdown in another incredible year for Sevenoaks .
Despite the challenges of online learning , we continued to have excellent attendance at our debating club , both in-person in the Michaelmas term , and online for much of the Lent term .
In addition to running our weekly debating club sessions , we also had success in the highly competitive debating competitions run by London universities . In the UCL Schools Competition , Fenton Davoren , Vara Gunananthan , Mominn Nawaz and Lilli Ganzer all qualified to debate in the novice final . At the end of the competition , Mominn and Lilli were named the best novice team , and Fenton and Vara the third joint best novice team . Mominn was best novice speaker and third best speaker overall . Lilli was second joint best novice speaker and Madeleine Whiteley was fifth best novice speaker .
We also enjoyed success in international debating competitions . After debating in the South-East round of the Oxford Schools Debating Competition , three of the four teams that we entered for the competition qualified to go on to compete in the international Finals Day . This was an impressive feat by Luke Ashworth , Nilou Davis , Elizabeth Gilbert-Bair , Sian McAllister , Proud Puangmaha and Vara Gunananthan . Nilou and Luke made it all the way to the semi-final and came 12th overall . After debating in the South- East round of the Cambridge Schools Debating Competition , Teniola Bankole-Olusina and Kieran Kiggell both placed in the top five of all the speakers who attended , while Kieran and Aashi Kotecha qualified for Finals Day .
Olivia Power
This year was one to remember . With a global pandemic raging , like pretty much everything else , debating had to change and adapt to new circumstances . We had to debate within year groups , all competitions were online and debating to a blank and silent screen – it turns out – is much more intimidating than speaking to actual people !
Given the circumstances , it would have been easy to write this year off from a debating perspective , but I think we gained a lot from it . Personally , it reminded me why I debate . I debate because I love the impassioned speeches and the team atmosphere . Whether virtual , or in person , I love meeting new people at competitions . I love debating bizarre and challenging motions .
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