Oxford Debating

Over the bank holiday, four pupils competed in the finals of a prestigious international competition at the Oxford Union.

Founded by the Oxford Union Society in 2003 and first hosted by Cambridge in 2008, the International Competition for Young Debaters (ICYD) is the largest BP format junior debating competition in the world for under 16s, run jointly by Oxford and Cambridge universities. Over 1000 teams across the world enter each year, with just 48 teams qualifying for finals day. Following their success at the London heat in February, two of our teams (Decca, Lakshanaa, Nina and Matilda in Year 10) reached the finals this year – an outstanding achievement in itself.

After four rounds of debating against teams from Malaysia, India, and Canada – including motions on broken windows policing, bonded scholarships and remote working – Matilda and Nina beat ten out of twelve opponents, securing them a spot in the semi-finals. Following a tough semi-final motion about drone warfare, in the beautiful Union Library, our duo sailed through to the grand final – a first for South Hampstead! With four teams in the final, the motion was: This House Supports Nationalism.  Following a spirited debate in the Oxford Union debating chamber, in front of a captivated audience, the pair debated brilliantly, despite losing to a fantastically talented team from Canada. Congratulations to all our competitors for such committed performances.