Here at the Noisy Classroom, the finals of the London Primary Debating Championships is always our favourite day of the year. Borough champions come together to showcase the best of the capital’s primary debating talent. It’s a tough day for the pupils as all of the motions are announced just 20 minutes in advance so it really is a test of thinking on your feet and speaking persuasively under pressure. This year the topics were:
- This house would put a tax on sugary food
- This house believes that all secondary schools should be co-educational
- This house would not allow parents to educate their children at home instead of at school
- This house would band scientific testing on animals
And the grand final was on the topical “This house believes that children from the age of 12 years old should have been allowed to vote on whether the UK should stay in the EU”
The grand final was between the teams from Newham and Wandsworth with the Newham team being crowned London Primary Champions and taking home the cup. Congratulations to them and all the pupils involved for a superb day of debating. Fiona Whytehead from the borough of Enfield said:
The final debate of the day was extraordinary. Some of the things those 10 year olds said were so sound and mature and sharp. What a wonderful event this is. How great the potential of our youngsters is.
We couldn’t agree more.