Category: News

As Debating Matters returns from yet another fantastic championship in Berlin, we asked our lead German partner, Sabine Beppler-Spahl, what inspired her to bring the championship to Berlin.

“As chair of the Freiblickinstitute, whose purpose is to organise public discussion on political and scientific issues, I felt the chance to host Debating Matters in Berlin was an opportunity not to be missed! Although Britain has a long tradition of schools debates, in Germany debating societies are not as well established.  But there is taste for serious, content-based debating in this country too!

Continue reading “Sabine Beppler-Spahl: on launching Debating Matters in Berlin”

An enthusiastic and well-researched team from Nelson-Mandela-Schule saw off competition from seven other Berlin schools this year to emerge as victors in the Debating Matters Berlin Championship 2022.

The team competed in three group-stage debates and, in the final, took on fellow group-stage winners Schadow-Gymnasium to argue against the motion “Tech companies should act to stop online misinformation”. Both teams were well-prepared and argued passionately for their side of the motion. That meant the panel of judges – Professor Stefan Chatrath, Professor Oleg Dik and DM alumnus Julia Dannemann-Freitag – had a tough job on their hands coming to a final decision! However, Nelson-Mandela-Schule eventually emerged victorious, rounding off an intellectually thrilling day of debate organised by Freiblickinstitut and hosted by University of Europe for Applied Sciences (UE) on its Berlin Campus.

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We’re delighted to announce that Debating Matters is returning to Berlin – live and in person, for our seventh DM Berlin championship.

On Thursday 16 June, during a full day of lively debates, eight Berlin schools will battle it out to become Debating Matters Berlin 2022 Champions. Along the way, teams will have to tackle such issues as whether technical progress can solve our environmental problems, whether Western museums should repatriate their cultural artefacts and if UBI can solve our economic and social problems.  The group stages will culminate in the winners of each group taking on the topic, Tech companies should act to stop online misinformation in the grand final.

Continue reading “Announcing the Debating Matters Berlin 2022 Championship!”

A fitting way to approach the end of a challenging but inspiring academic year

It has been an eventful academic year as Debating Matters has moved our unique format online to provide a much-needed dose of public-spirited debate and discussion in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The most recent of our online championships provided a fantastic illustration of how essential Debating Matters can be, and gave a great justification for the work done to make sure Debating Matters can thrive online.

It was also a great demonstration of how the Debating Matters format allows new schools to thrive, with both Springwood High School making their debut in the competition but managing to come away with the crown. Bacup & Rawtenstall, winning with a unique approach, also demonstrated another Debating Matters ideal: “Debating Matters because ideas matter”.

Continue reading “Demanding debates and a debut winner: Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School and Springwood High School take the final crowns of the year”

A brilliant series of performances gave Barnard Castle School the victory in a challenging week of online debate in Debating Matters’ first Public Policy Championships. It was a fantastic series of debates over the week, showcasing a range of new Debating Matters Topic Guides and a renewed focus on real-world policy discussions.

Students debated a range of contemporary issues, from whether vaccine passports benefit society to whether the UK should reduce its foreign aid budget, whether the government should intervene to discourage unhealthy lifestyles and whether monuments to controversial figures should be torn down.

Continue reading “Barnard Castle take the crown in first Debating Matters Public Policy Championship”

Debating Matters is delighted to announce its next three championship events. As ever, these championships will see schools from around the country take on their peers in a series of debates overseen by panels of eminent judges. 

At the heart of the championships, as always, will be Debating Matters unique brand of ‘substance over style’ debating, the unparalleled interaction between judges and debaters, plenty of audience involvement, and a commitment to taking ideas seriously. 

Continue reading “Announcing the Debating Matters Public Policy Championships!”

Debating Matters’ unique online championships made a virtual stop in Berlin for a series of high-quality and challenging debates, with the Humboldt Gymnasium beating five other schools from around Berlin to become the Debating Matters Online Berlin Champions.

The championship saw the teams tackle issues such as whether governments should intervene to improve unhealthy lifestyles, whether populism is a threat to democracy, and whether privacy is outdated in the digital age.

Continue reading “Debating Matters returns to Berlin and Humboldt Gymnasium emerge victors”

The third Debating Matters Online Championship ends with Ecclesbourne victorious

Six schools from around the country spent much of January thinking hard about and debating some of the key questions of our time. With pandemic restrictions still in place, Debating Matters was delighted to continue to jump online to offer its unique approach to schools’ debating. 

After a hard fought competition, with superb performances from both teams, it was The Ecclesbourne School who ended up champions, beating Gosforth Academy in an exceptional final where Ecclesbourne defended the motion ‘Western museums should repatriate cultural artefacts’. 

Continue reading “The Ecclesbourne School power through as Debating Matters Online Champions for January!”

Debating Matters concluded its first-ever online championships this autumn, with 12 schools battling it out over two competitions to grab the first-ever Debating Matters virtual crowns.

After a long and challenging year, it’s been a thrilling return to Debating Matters. Leaving behind the challenges of bubbles and isolation, 12 schools from around the country logged on to take part in two new-look Debating Matters Championships. The debates that usually characterise our championships – with audiences and peers from different schools all mixing – have not been able to take place in person this year, but we’re delighted to have made our own contribution to ensuring that intellectual life hasn’t been locked down!

Continue reading “Maidstone Grammar and Barnard Castle schools Zoom into the Debating Matters history Books”

Throughout the pandemic, we at Debating Matters have strived to support teachers and pupils through the challenges and keep debate alive. Earlier in the year, we took Debating Matters Online, running several online debates between schools all around the UK. With restrictions on social events set to continue, we’re launching two initiatives to keep debate alive.

First, we are launching our first ever Debating Matters Online Championship.

We’re now recruiting for 6-8 school teams to take part in the first championship, which will be held over a period of two weeks after the October half term (exact dates TBC). Each team will have a minimum of two debates, and if they beat the other teams in their group they will progress to our first ever online final.

Continue reading “Launching the Debating Matters Online Championship”