Mastering the Argument: A Winning Debate
The Senior Debating Team shone at a recent heat in the Schools' MACE - the oldest and largest debating competition for schools. Heats begin in November, with the Grand Final in April.
Left to right, Isabel (Year 11), Viggo and Win (Year 13)
Viggo (Year 13) reports:
Last Thursday, the School’s Senior Debating Team launched their campaign in this year’s ESU Schools’ Mace competition 2024-25 with a resounding win in the first round. The team travelled to Guildford to face off against RGS Guildford, taking the opposition side on the motion "This House Supports the implementation of a four-day school week". Two new speakers, Isabel and Win, made their debuts, and it was exciting to see how this new team would fare.
The proposition’s team was nothing short of theatrical - they delivered their speeches with remarkable fluency, humour, and confidence. However, as the debate unfolded, one could not help but think that the speakers of the proposition were far better at stating their arguments, than constructing them. The Charterhouse team skilfully picked apart their points, showcasing not only strong rebuttals but also a coherent, evidence-based case for maintaining the five-day school week.
In the end, both Charterhouse and RGS Guildford progressed to the next round of the competition—deservedly so. For Charterhouse, this victory builds on the momentum of two consecutive regional finals in previous years. With aspirations to reach the national stage this year, the team is off to a promising start. If last week’s performance is anything to go by, they are well on their way to making that ambition a reality.
The Charterhouse team skilfully picked apart their points, showcasing not only strong rebuttals but also a coherent, evidence-based case for maintaining the five-day school week.
Viggo (Year 13)