St Philip's School - 10th June 2025

Another excellent debating session.

This week we began with a review of key body language skills and then moved to examining persuasive language techniques. Our newsround took in the Musk-Trump split, the War in Ukraine and the role of drones, the Glacier/avalanche in Switzerland, Tariffs, the Polish election and sporting news from football to tennis.

Our unseen of the week featured an image from the 1944 D-Day Landings. We reflected on the sacrifice and bravery displayed and the impact on the world. The group recognised the extraordinary and historic nature of the successful plan. We also mentioned the extraordinary movie ‘The Longest Day’ and the remarkable role of Lord Lovat.

Following a discussion of World Ocean Day and what steps we might take to help across the planet we turned to our debating motions on the topics/questions:

·         This House would extend Forest School into primary and secondary level learning – some in the groups liked the idea, particularly linking to science, whilst others thought this impractical on a countrywide basis.

·         Should all news homes have solar panels installed?

·         Following the Musk-Trump split, we turned to the motion ‘This House would not have unelected members of the public joining/contributing to governments/politics’

It was great to see persuasive language skills being used throughout our set-piece debates and the thoughtful way the group approached our D-Day discussions. Well done all!