American School of London - 6 May 2026

This was another excellent session. We warmed up by thinking about which three people from history you would invite to lunch. The students shared their ideas with each other before presenting them to the group. There were some wonderful selections, most notably the wives of Henry VIII.  

We discussed which was the most important invention: the train or photography? The main stumbling block of the discussion seemed to be centred around the subtext of, ‘important for who exactly?’ It is great to have this kind of hypothetical discussion as it highlights the importance of clearly defining the terms.

There was no such uncertainty in our debate today, thanks to some beautifully crafted, articulate speeches. On a points based system there were only two marks between the different teams, so it was a close run thing!

We debated ‘This house believes that competitive sport is good for children.’ Every speaker gave examples from their own experiences, which made their speeches all the more convincing. It is also wonderful to hear different debating styles emerging. One student often starts by getting the group to visualise something (in this instance winning at sport) and another often asks for a show of hands in a form of rhetorical question. Some like to convince with statistics on their side, while others go down an empathy route (or Pathos). Everyone participated enthusiastically. The group is speaking with increasing confidence and skill.

Well done all!