Autumn Socratic Club Debating Competition & Certification (The Charles Dickens Museum) 2025

As ever it was wonderful to return to the Charles Dickens Museum for our Autumn debating competition with our Junior and Senior Socratic Club members.

The venue makes for an inspiring location for our members to explore the power of words and argument, not least in the presence of the very desk on which Great Expectations was written.

We were very lucky to be joined by Yiannis Vassilakis as our guest judge. Yiannis a King’s Scholar from Eton, works across the creative industries, with particular emphasis on the power of words. It was a real privilege for the students to receive feedback from someone with such knowledge, particularly in a contemporary setting.

Each debate began with a warm-up challenge:

·         Is ok to change your mind? (with a focus on Rachel Reeves and the ‘will she, won’t she’ for the budget just gone) The range of responses really impressed.

Our motions for the day included:

• ‘This House believes that in an Age of AI, we no longer need to focus on modern languages’ (echoing some of the new national curriculum review); &

• ‘This House believes that exams are a better format of assessment than coursework’

We saw excellent use of examples and justification, and our judge was particularly impressed by the clarity and confidence shown in the debates, as well as superb active listening and a willingness to hear another point of view, reflected in the second tellings.  

Looking forward to our next competition in January, available to members on zoom, more details to follow. 

Very well done all!