On Tuesday 19 November, Newcastle’s Youth Parliament hosted the Newcastle Schools Debating Matters Championship at the Civic Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne. In partnership with Newcastle City Council’s Evry initiative, five schools plus ‘Team Wildcard’ battled it out to be awarded Debating Matters Champions!
The competition was initiated by Findlay Shaw, sixth former at Gosforth Academy – regular DM competitors. Findlay took part in Debating Matters at the House of Lords and Debating Matters Durham in 2024 and was inspired by the DM format, which places the substance of an argument above debating style and uses carefully created Topic Guides on a range of real-world issues.
Newcastle Schools Debating competition was organised by Findlay Shaw, member of the youth parliament and winner of an honourable mention at the Durham DM Championship in 2024.
Pupils from Jesmond Park Academy, RGS Newcastle, St Mary’s Catholic School, Walbottle Academy and Findlay’s own school, Gosforth Academy, competed against each other and new ‘Team Wildcard’ – a combination of pupils from all five schools, brought together in true collegiate style when the sixth school could no longer compete.
The teams were be put to the test, having their arguments challenged and strengthened by a selection of judges from various sectors across the North East, including education, politics and the arts. Regular DM judges Jon Bryan, Dr Caspar Hewett, David O’Toole and Dr Paula Lightfoot took part in the judging, with DM’s national and international coordinator, Dr Mo Lovatt, judging the final debate and presenting the prizes to the winners.
The motions that teams debated were: Cancel Culture is a threat to freedom of speech, Smartphones should be banned in the classroom, Corporate Sponsorship is good for the arts and Populism is a threat to democracy. Congratulation to all teams!
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