Cicero Cup 2024‑5

the national primary schools debating programme

Cicero Cup 2024‑5

the national primary schools debating programme

Develop oracy, confidence and critical thinking through our debate training and national debating championships for pupils in years 4-6

We have over a decade of experience running the London Primary Schools Debating Championships, and major secondary school competitions like the PiXL Club’s Up for Debate programme. Now, junior schools can take part in our specially-designed programme which blends pupil workshops for whole classes or year groups, a national championships with heats in your region, and staff CPD to help you and your pupils excel as debaters.

Welcome to the third year of the Cicero Cup!

Our debaters really enjoyed the experience and said that they had learnt so many skills through taking part.

Our 2024 national champions (James Allen's Girls School) and runners-up (St Stephen's CE Primary School) with Bilal Mahmood (chair of judges for our grand final) outside Hampton Court Royal Palace

Deadline for registration: Friday 8 November, 2024

Getting ready to excel as debaters

Our ambition is to help build a culture of debate in your school by involving as many pupils as possible. We run pupil workshops for whole classes or year groups. We can even organise a debate challenge day in your school, working as a preliminary round to help select your teams.

Pupil workshops (October 2024 - January 2025)

Your own debate challenge day between December 2024 and January 2025

Cicero Cup Championships

Up to two teams of 3 to 6 pupils represent your school in an enjoyable and exciting day of debates. Most schools take part in person in a regional venue, but an online option is also available. Teams receive expert feedback from our positive and enthusiastic judges, and make friends with debaters from other schools.

Inter-school heats in the spring term of 2025

Semi-finals and national Grand Final

Venues

We will be announcing this year’s venues later in September. If you’re keen to host us this year, email debbie@noisyclassroom.com.

Live heats

Online heat

for primary schools

Get debating this term with our pupil workshops and CPD, and then welcome other schools to a heat at your school in the spring …

for secondary schools

Hosting a heat in the spring term is a perfect opportunity to build links with your own feeder primary schools, and with other schools from further afield …

for MATs, LAs, university outreach programmes or other organisations

We’re already working with several MATs, LAs and universities across the UK to host rounds for primary schools in your catchment area …

what you'd need to do

We can do all the work in organising the rounds, providing high-quality pupil workshops and teacher CPD to the participating primary schools, and running the event. But we do need venues willing to open their doors to the community and help us spread the valuable skills of debating.

Each round needs one (or sometimes two) spaces of classroom size or bigger for three hours during the school day. Read more in our hosting guide.

Interested? Email debbie@noisyclassroom.com to start a conversation about becoming a host …

 

CPD and teaching resources

Whether you’re new to teaching debate, or are an experienced debate coach, we’ll help you move up to the next level. Our team of expert trainers has over 60 years of combined experience in delivering CPD in debating and critical oracy, and you’ll love our clear and exciting handbook and resource bank.

All of our CPD programmes link you and your colleagues up with some of the world’s foremost competitive debaters, international judges and world-leading experts in the pedagogy of critical oracy.

Our Cicero Cup packages for 2024-25

Deadline for registration: Friday 8 November, 2024

Cicero Programme 2024-25

Our core package of pupil workshops, CPD, resources and entry to the championships
£ 500
  • One team of 3-6 pupils in the Cicero Cup (add an additional team for £75, subject to available spaces in your heat)
  • Half-day pupil workshop in your school for up to 30 pupils
  • Resources including our debating handbook and a bank of 20 debate stimulus sheets
  • Online teacher briefing plus 3 places at our online “Building a thriving debate culture in your school” CPD session in the spring term
  • 15% discount on whole-school oracy/debate CPD and additional Noisy Classroom workshops and events in your school
Popular

Cicero Premium

an extra half day of workshops and an additional online CPD
£ 650
  • All the features from the Core Cicero Programme
  • Your pupil workshop in your school upgraded to a full day for up to 60 pupils
  • Additional CPD in the autumn term: choose between “Introduction to Running Debate” or “Coaching for Success” CPD sessions in the autumn term.

Cicero Super Premium

add a full-day debate challenge in your school to enable every pupil to compete
£ 1000-1400 depending on numbers
  • All the features from our Core and Premium packages
  • After your full day of pupil workshops, you get full support from the Noisy Classroom to run an accessible, fun and aspirational internal debating competition for your school
  • At the end of the day, our expert judge will confer with teachers from your school to decide on one or two teams (each comprising 3 to 6 pupils) who will go on to represent you in the inter-school heats
  • We'll provide you with a PDF certificate for every debater to celebrate their partipation in the Cicero Cup 2024-5
high impact

Competition only

£ 100
  • We encourage all our schools to book our workshop packages to maximise the pupils positively impacted by the programme. However, if debating is already thriving in your school, you may choose a “competition-only” entry option. This includes a handbook and online teacher briefing to ensure you are prepared for the specific rules, format and judging guidelines for our tournament. Stimulus sheets and other resources are not included, but can be added via the 'Resources only' option.

Resources only

£ 50 1-year licence
  • For those who cannot make the competition (from anywhere in the world)
  • Use our digital debating handbook and bank of debate topic stimulus sheets to support debating in your school or club.

Any questions? Can't find a round to suit you?

 

If you’ve got any questions at all about the programme, just email debbie@noisyclassroom.com. Especially so if you can’t find a round to suit you, and would like to consider hosting a round at your school, or working with us to find a local partner who might host. We’ll be adding several additional rounds shortly, and would love to makes sure that you’re able to join us this year, wherever your young debaters are based.