Getting your club started
Debating can be a fantastic way to really develop students analytical skills and confidence when speaking.
- Five steps for preparing a debate with a class
- Top ten style tips for persuasive speaking
- Questions to ask yourself while debating
- Using an hour to prepare for a debate
- How do I speak for up to five minutes?
- Different forms of rebuttal
- Rebuttal worksheets
- Guidance for chairpersons in a debate
- Note-writing frames for 3-a-side debates
- Note-writing frames for BP (British Parliamentary) debates
Topics
We’ve gathered together a huge number of debating topics over the years. Use one of ours for your club, or peruse our selection to inspire you to create your own. We also have stimulus sheets for lots of topics, which can help novice debaters and less able students feel more confident when preparing for a debate.
Building Skills
These games and exercises are great ways to help develop your students’ debating skills. Use them as a starter activity before diving into a debate, or even devote a whole club session to working on a specific skill.
Debate Videos
Full debates can be a great way to teach the debating format and slowly build your students’ confidence, or you can target their listening skills by getting them to watch and judge one of the debates.
Show one of our games before giving your students a chance to try it out themselves.
The case for accepting more refugees
In this video, Heather looks at how you can argue against people who think that the UK should not accept more refugees.
Should we rely on renewable energy in the UK?
Daniel looks at the pros and cons of using renewable energy in the UK. This video was made for the science faculty at Clapton Girls’ Academy with support from Linklaters LLP. Thank to everyone for allowing us to share it more widely.
Three Top Tips For Public Speaking
Alice shares her three top tips for delivering a speech
Public Speaking: Things To Avoid
Alice shares her top tips on things to avoid when you are giving a speech
Artificial Intelligence (Part Two)
In the second of two videos, Alice looks at the key debates around Artificial Intelligence.
Artificial Intelligence (Part One)
In part one of two videos, Alice looks at the key concepts in Artificial Intelligence.
The World Since 1945: an overview
Alice looks at key social and political changes over the last 75 years. This video was created for Literature students to provide starting context for their study of post-war literature and will be of interest to anyone wanting an overview of change in this period.
Globalisation
Mel takes a look at the pros and cons of globalisation.
This House believes that computers are better than books
Six tech-savvy and well-read primary pupils from Hackney debate this motion which is so relevant for all in education today.
This House believes schools should exclude bullies
KS3 pupils (11-15 years old) from the Beacon School in Surrey debate this motion using a 3-a-side format with a floor debate. The video on this page streams from YouTube. A few schools block YouTube; if yours is one of them, use the backup video link below. If neither of these videos work for you, …This House believes schools should exclude bullies Read More »
How to prepare for a debate
Students from Clapton Girls’ Academy show us the key steps to prepare as a team for a debate, using the BP format.
This House would abandon nuclear power
Teams of 3 give 8-minute speeches and engage in rigorous analysis using the World Schools Debating Championship (WSDC) format.
This House would ban cars from city centres
Students from Clapton Girls’ Academy debate this interesting Geography motion in British Parliamentary (BP) format.
This House would lower the voting age to 12
14 year-old pupils from Bury St Edmunds debate an engaging politics motion in a 3-a-side format with floor debate.
This House believes that the Treaty of Versailles was the main cause of World War II
GCSE pupils from Hackney debate this history exam classic in a 2-a-side format with audience questions.
This House believes that it is worse to eat too much than to eat too little
Weighty arguments in our lean, mean 2-a-side format with plenty of audience questions for dessert.
This House believes that Romeo and Juliet’s parents were responsible for their children’s deaths
Two debate teams, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene …
Rebuttal tennis
The ball’s in your court, as singles and doubles players line up for some quick-witted rallies of responses.
Boxing match debate
“Roll up, roll up for the boxing match debate”, the Noisy Classroom’s big-hitter for differentiation and teamwork.
Where do you stand?
Are you on one side, or the other? Who occupies the centre ground? Are you part of a group or out on a limb?
Make a change
A quick exercise based on the timeless question, “what would you do if you could change the world?”
This House believes that we should only eat food produced in Britain
There are lots of reasons why we might decide only to eat food from our own country, and patriotism is only one of them.
Presentations: Body Language
In this video, Alison looks at how you can make your presentations more powerful by using effective body language.
Presentation skills: vocal variety
Improve your presentation skills by focusing on vocal variety.
Exploring Internet Censorship
Cerys looks at the issue of regulating and censoring the internet and explores examples from around the world.
What should we ban?
Cerys looks at how societies decide what to ban
Quotas
Cerys looks at the arguments for and against using quotas as a form of affirmative action
A History of Pride
Cerys takes a look at the history of the Pride Festival.
Presentations: Introductions & Conclusions
Developing strong introductions and conclusions for your presentations. In this video, Alison explains the importance of a strong introduction and conclusion when planning a presentation, and gives you some ideas to try out for yourself.
Presentations: Breathing & Resonance
Breathing & resonance are two essential considerations when delivering a presentation – it’s no good being clear and distinct if your listeners can’t hear what you’re saying! In this video, Alison explains the basics of breath control, breath support and the resonators. Practising these techniques will help your voice to carry, so you will be …
This House believes that the Olympics will be good for Hackney
A great example of a topical and geographically-specific topic from 2012; what similar motions might you set?
This House believes that kids can make a big difference to the environment
As part of the Linklaters Hackney Debate Challenge, primary school pupils from the borough debated whether young people can make a difference to the environment. There are two different versions of the same debate for you to compare, and our judges gave feedback too. As well as watching the videos of these debates, why not …This House believes that kids can make a big difference to the environment Read More »
Developing communication skills through family board games
Our Learning & Development Manager, Alison, explains how you can help your children to develop their communication skills during COVID-19. This video focuses on board games that involve all the family. For more information on this, see: Board Games to Encourage Speaking and Listening and Communication (Opens in a new tab)
Competitions
Debating competitions are a fantastic way for your students to meet other interested (and argumentative) students, develop their confidence and analytical skills, and spend a whole evening or day improving at debating.