School_Matters_Issue_34

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DEBATING HONOURS FOR DR HAZELL Having taken up his appointment as our main Teacher of Rhetoric and Master in charge of Debating this academic year, we are delighted to report that Dr Hazell has been announced as the Chief Adjudicator for the 2022 European Universities Debating Championship to be held in Zagreb, Croatia. As Chief Adjudicator, Dr Hazell will set the motions, lead the judges and ensure that the event, one of the biggest in the

ESU CHURCHILL PUBLIC SPEAKING

In the ESU Churchill Public Speaking Competition, entered by our Senior 9 and 10 pupils in teams of three, participants take on the roles of Speaker, Chairperson and Questioner. Speakers are then paired with a questioner and chair from another school. The variety of roles makes this a difficult competition to prepare for, with only one team of the five competing at the round able to qualify for the regional finals. After an evening of exciting speeches, incisive questioning and deft chairing, it was our S10 team of Olivia Arbour, Yeva Kebabdjian and Charlie Tebbutt which emerged as the victor. The judges praised Yeva’s passionate oratory on her chosen topic (“Is it too late to the save the world?”), Charlie’s delicate balance of humour and formality as Chair, and Olivia’s insightful questioning to elevate the speaker with whom she was paired. Our second team of Emma Cortinovis, Rishabh Madhok and Maya Prlja also received

international debating calendar, runs smoothly. Dr Hazell is a veteran of the competition and in 2017, representing the University of Cambridge, was half of its winning team and judged Best Speaker. We wish Dr Hazell every success in his endeavours and know that our pupils here at IPS will benefit enormously from the experiences which it affords him.

abundant praise from the judges on their performance, and are to be commended for the hard work they put in to training for the competition.

We congratulate our public speakers and look forward to reporting further on their progress in the future.

Dr Matt Hazell

Yeva Kebabdjian, S10

IPS DEBATING SUCCESS With strict rules about who should speak and when, debating is an activity that translates well to Zoom. Four IPS debaters attended their first online tournament against St Paul’s Girls’ School. Emma Cortinovis, S10, Yeva Kebabdjian, S10, Alexandra Mortimer, LVI and Ella Reynolds, UVI debated topics including whether unvaccinated pupils should be banned from school and whether Greta Thurnberg’s ‘School Strike for Climate’ has done more harm than good. After three challenging preliminary rounds and sterling performances in each, our duo of Ella and Alex ranked 3rd out of the field of 40 and earned a place in the final. Here they debated whether we should support the recasting of characters historically played by men as women (e.g. Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor in Doctor Who ). Despite commendable efforts and soaring speeches, the team was pipped at the post.

ESU MACE SUCCESS The ESU Mace is the de facto national championship for schools debating. It is organised across a series of local heats, with winners progressing to regional and eventually national finals. IPS was drawn into a challenging heat against local schools including Putney High and Hampton. Sixth Formers Leonie Hay, Kirsty McMillan, Alex Mortimer, Ella Reynolds and Miranda Sim were asked to propose the motion “This House would ban job applicants from disclosing the names of educational institutions that they have attended”. With a few weeks to prepare, many evenings were given over to research and practice debates. On the night itself, it was Alex, Ella and Miranda who took to the (virtual) stage to debate against Grey Court School. Their eloquent arguments, commendable debate strategy and thorough research allowed them to best their opponents. They ranked as the overall top team in the round and earned progression through to the regional finals – a great achievement!

Nonetheless, our teams left with heads held high. They achieved even more success in the individual awards. Alex placed 6th and Ella 8th for Best Speaker, which was an excellent achievement for their first online debating competition. Emma and Yeva performed admirably in the face of strong competition, despite being one of the youngest teams in a field of mostly Sixth Formers. Well done to all four. Dr Matt Hazell, Teacher of Debate and Rhetoric

LVI and UVI debaters at the ESU Mace round

Alex Mortimer, LVI and Ella Reynolds, UVI