We are delighted to report on an excellent first half to the Michaelmas term of our Debating & Interview club at St Andrew's.
We have covered key skills from:
Body language & Presentation work
Conviction speaking
Classic interview questions (from core/subject specific to philosophical)
Active Listening
Conclusions & Summaries
Unseen work
Group debating/questions
Teamwork
Evidence & Stories
Rhetorical Questions
It has been great to see the incorporation of these skills into the answers and argument given this term.
Well done all on the progress across the different debating and interview fields.
Our focus on skills this week turned to conclusions and how to end an argument in a positive way.
As a warm up we began this week with the interview question: 'what do you find most challenging at school?' Here the aim was to turn a potentially negative question into a positive, i.e. turning the 'challenge' of a subject or sport into why these are favourite subjects.
This was followed by a newsround including reflections on the tragic conflict in Israel and Gaza, the concern around global temperatures continuing to rise, Microplastic restrictions in the EU, the cricket world cup and the rugby union world cup.
We then turned to our central debating topic for the session and that of the new coinage for/and designed by the King, Charles III. This includes larger numbers to help/encourage children with counting/mathematics and images of endangered species in the UK to raise awareness. We asked as the proposition 'Whether this would make a difference'? or for the opposition - 'Was it simply a gimmick'? A majority of the group voted in favour of the motion at the first telling. By the second, the gap had narrowed. A majority still thought this a good idea, but it was felt the idea could be expanded to reflect global species or the money spent more directly on animal welfare and scientific/farming efforts to help the flora and fauna of the UK.
As ever we ended with the debate and questions in full flow! Tremendous enthusiasm and contributions from all.
We are much looking forward to the second half of term.
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