West London League Debating Competition
Debating victory!
This year Uxbridge High School, defending champions of the West London Schools’ Debating League, had more students than ever taking part, and victoriously too; winning nine first places and comfortably scoring First Place School overall.
The sixteen students, from across Key Stages 4 and 5, competed in the first round against schools such as Langley Academy, Villiers High School, Harlington School and Rosedale Academy.
It was the first debating experience for most and all performed exceptionally well. Students had prepared the motion “This House Believes Surveillance Has Gone Too Far”. The teams performed with confidence and poise, especially in their interpretations of the motion and rebuttal to opposing teams. The second debate was on an unseen topic, “This House Believes We Should Decriminalize Drugs”. Here we benefited from the advice of our student coaches Mohammed Khan and Athikur Choudhury. The teams did particularly well, scoring 1st or 2nd place in many debates. Particular mention must go to Suidi Mohamed and Sumaya Dhashane for feisty, yet impressive performances!
Many students received well-deserved praise from judges, with standout performances going to those who won straight first places: Alex Old, Esme Henry, Vishal Joshi, Gurleen Arora, Callum McGloin, and Gloria Feudjo Tepie.
Other strong performances came from Kara Shipperly and Rosa Beishon, who scored 1st and 2nd place; to Aathithan Luckeeswaran and Hans Aukhaj for their perceptive summary speeches; and to Arjola Idrizi and Farhana Choudhury for their teamwork and challenging Points of Interest delivered to the opposing sides.
Many congratulations to all the students taking part.