Pupils from 16 schools progress to Scottish debating tournament semi-final

The second-round heats of the annual debating competition in January saw 32 teams from 31 schools debate the motion “This house would introduce university fees in Scotland”.

The 16 teams going through to the semi-final in March wowed the judges with their arguments for and against the motion, with the proposers citing a potential boost to university resources, while those opposing the motion raised the issue of accessibility to higher education.

In the semi-final debaters are presented with the motion just one hour before the debate and must prepare their arguments without the aid of smartphones, computers or newspapers.

Georgia Turnbull, careers and outreach coordinator at the Law Society of Scotland, said: “Congratulations to all the pupils who competed in the second round. The standard of debating was very high making it difficult for our judges to select the successful teams going through to the semi-final. In the semi-finals we will see a new challenge for our talented semi-finalists, where the motion is unseen.”

Now in its 23rd year, the Dewar Debate is the biggest competition of its kind in Scotland and has been held virtually throughout the pandemic to allow pupils to compete.

With online communication skills now an essential, the Law Society offered all debaters from the tournament the chance to attend an online training workshop. The hour-long session, held in January before the second round, was led by voice coach, actor and communications trainer Victoria Pritchard, who co-founded the coaching company Redvoice.

Ms Turnbull added: “We’re very grateful to Victoria and the Karen Napier Fund for their support. The pupils who took part in the workshop really benefitted from the professional training and insight Victoria offered and it was fantastic to see their new skills being put into practice during the debates.”

The upcoming semi-finals in March will see the teams compete to reach the tournament’s grand final in June. The winning team in the final will win £1,000 for their school from the Law Society of Scotland and the top two teams will share educational books to the value of £500 donated by the event sponsor, Hodder Gibson.