Cobham Hall encourages girls throughout school to try debating and public speaking, organising in-school debates and entering local and national competitions organised by the English Speaking Union and Cambridge University.

This year has already seen success, with teams winning through to regional and international rounds.

Congratulations to Tara Grimes and Elizabeth Panton, whose debating skills put them in the top ten at the regional round of the International Young Debaters competition earlier in the year.  Fifty six teams from twenty five schools competed.  They had been given a week’s notice of the topic for the first debate: Banning Space Exploration Programmes. The motions for the three following debates were only revealed 15 minutes before each debate started. They were: EFL Provision in Schools; National Military Service, and Compulsory Blood Donation!  Not easy!

Each performance was judged by Cambridge University student debaters.

On 10 May, they will travel to the Oxford Union to compete in the finals and we wish them the very best of luck!

Tara and Elizabeth also won the regional round of the English Speaking Union’s Mace Debating Competition.  Although they are Year 10 students, they beat teams from the Sixth Forms from Sevenoaks School, King’s Rochester, Wilmington Boys’ Grammar and Gravesend Girls Grammar!

Their performances were spectacular! They worked perfectly as a team, making strong and engaging speeches on the motion “Social networking websites should never have been invented!”   During the debate each team interrupts the speeches of the opposing team to offer ‘points of information’.  Elizabeth and Tara demonstrated excellent skill in making and responding to points of information.  They deserve high praise and our best wishes for success in the next round of the competition.

Cobham's second debating team also did well at the Cambridge University Union.  Sophia Kosti & Chantelle Roles -well supported by their friends in Group 4, competed in four separate debates, each with eight speakers.   

Elizabeth & Tara ranked in the TOP TEN teams for the day and now move on to the International final in May.  There, they will meet teams from other regions of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.  Sophia & Chantelle also did extremely well, gaining some of the top marks for the whole day in their debate on National Service.

Sophia Kosti, Sydney Nash and Elizabeth Panton have also represented the school at the regional round of the ESU Public Speaking Competition.  Their contributions were lively, interesting and delivered with flair, only narrowly missing out on the top prize.  Particular congratulations go to Sydney Nash, our Chair, who displayed charm and enthusiasm, although she had only one day to prepare.  Well done to all three girls.

Cobham Hall can be justly proud of all these achievements and I congratulate our splendid Debaters and Public Speakers.

Dr Josephine Payne

Cobham Hall Debating