Viewing archives for Debating & public speaking

Three QE teams all won two of their three debates in a competition against other leading schools, even though they had had no time to practise – and members of one had not even met up before the event.

Ten boys went on the trip to the South Hampstead High School (SHHS) Friendly Debating Competition, where they were given only 15 minutes to prepare ahead of each debate.

They covered a range of topics, debating whether trials should be televised, how to handle refugee settlement in the UK and whether the rise of social media is good for society.

Their debating coach for the trip, Economics teacher Sheerwan O’Shea-Nejad, said: “The boys really thought on their feet well; they were able to persuade the judges of their arguments using a brilliant blend of analysis and examples (with no use of electronic devices for research allowed).

“Logistical issues meant the teams had not been able to practise even once together, while our Key Stage 3 team, drawn from various year groups, had not even met before their first debate, which made the successes even more remarkable.

“Special credit must also be given to our other two teams, who were all from Year 10 yet managed to defeat Year 12 students representing some of London’s leading independent schools.

“All in all, it was another great advertisement for how QE produces intelligent, knowledgeable and confident students.”

The boys took full advantage of the opportunity to get some expert feedback, reported Mr O’Shea-Nejad. The judges included some on the world’s best young debaters, drawn from universities across London.

Among them was Umar Buckus, who has judged at the European, Asian and World debating championships. He said: “The QE debaters showed great potential and talent, despite their lack of experience. I look forward to hopefully seeing them triumph at a future tournament.”

Afterwards, QE2 team captain Ady Tiwari thanked Mr O’Shea-Nejad, adding: “It was an enlightening and thought-provoking experience that nurtured my development.”

The teams were:

QE1: Keshav Aggarwal, Year 8; Rishan Virmani, Year 7; Simi Bloom, Year 9, and Adithya Raghuraman, Year 9

QE2: Girish Adapa, Year 10; Ady Tiwari, Year 10, and Shreyas Mone, Year 10

QE3: Vaibhav Gaddi, Year 10; Harrshiv Vyas, Year 10, and Akshat Bajaj, Year 10

Fifteen QE sixth-formers successfully got to grips with how countries as diverse as the USA and Pakistan view the world in a Model United Nations conference.

The QE Year 12 team spent weeks preparing for the annual MUN event at St Paul’s School in London.

Model United Nations is an educational simulation of the real UN at which participants can gain greater understanding of diplomacy and international relations, as well as learning skills including research, public speaking, debating and teamwork.

Economics teacher Sheerwan O’Shea-Nejad said: “Our boys were already confident, as evidenced from their ability to lobby other delegations, but I am sure their confidence will only grow after their excellent performance.

“All the students enjoyed the experience immensely and relished the opportunity to improve their debating skills and knowledge of these important global issues. Many friendships were made and the boys hope that they will be able to attend another in-person MUN soon and are even considering hosting one next year.”

At MUN conferences, pupils are assigned as delegates to a country and participate in committees that deal with different sets of issues.

Policy proposals submitted ahead of the conference required the QE cohort to convey their countries’ plan to tackle particular global issues. Examples included: closing Guantanamo Bay; handling the tensions in the Taiwan Strait; overseas electoral rigging; nuclear testing on the moon; disarming the Taliban, and decolonising the Western Sahara. The boys had spent time researching topics and the stance they were representing.

On the first two days, the delegates engaged in some heated debate on the merits of their resolutions in separate committees, before choosing the best of them to be presented and discussed in General Assembly on the third day.

“The students debated and lobbied well, with Aryaman Madan and Nayel Muhammad Huda especially active in forming alliances with other delegations, both during committee meetings and in-between them,” said Mr O’Shea-Nejad. “Nayel was recognised as the best speaker on the Women’s Rights Committee and Abir Mohammed as the best speaker on the Legal Committee.”

Reflecting afterwards, QE delegate Ryan Whorra said: “MUN was an amazing experience, due to the rich debates between all the delegates as well as learning the art of diplomacy as all delegates attempted to achieve their countries’ objectives.”

Danny Adey said: “It was a great opportunity to get a better understanding of the inner workings of international politics and meet new people.”

Mathavan Chandra-Mohan added: “It was really interesting to debate current issues with students from other schools,” Rahul Doshi that the conference was “great fun”, while at the same time the debates were “challenging”.

The QE group, with their committee, comprised:

USA: Aryaman Madan (Security), Danny Adey (Women), Ruixuan Wu (Special Political and Decolonisation Committee – SPECPOL), Rahul Doshi (Disarmament and International Security – DISEC) and Jeshvin Jesudas (Legal);

Pakistan: Abir Mohammed (Legal), Frank Zhang (DISEC) and Kai Mukherjee (SPECPOL);

Ireland: Surya Dhaka (Legal), Yash Makwana (SPECPOL) and Aarian Hundal (DISEC);

Saudi Arabia: Ryan Whorra (DISEC), Nayel Muhammad Huda (Women), Mathavan Chandra-Mohan (SPECPOL) and Mukund Soni (Legal).

A QE team triumphed in their heat of the Magistrates’ Court Mock Trial Competition, beating both fellow Elizabethans acting as prosecutors and a team from another school.

After successfully grappling with a case involving harassment across the two rounds, the defence team amassed enough points to beat all other competing schools and take the top spot. Now both QE teams will take part in a national celebration event in June.

Biology teacher Nadia Kaan, who oversaw the boys’ involvement, said: “This competition is a fun and engaging way to introduce pupils to the law, while also developing skills such as teamwork and oracy.

“Our boys had worked hard since October to prepare, and they duly performed very well on the day. My congratulations go to our defence team on their victory.”

The competition, which is run by the Young Citizens education charity, has been running for over 25 years and is open to 12–14 year-olds from UK state schools. Participants take on the main roles found in a criminal trial – such as prosecutor and defendant – with the cases specially written by legal experts.

Run with the active support of practising magistrates and legal advisors, the competition is usually held within real courthouses, although this year’s event was held online because of the pandemic.

The two QE teams, all drawn from Year 9, found themselves facing each other in their heat after one of the other schools expected to take part pulled out. Defence team ‘lawyer’ Colin Copcea explained that it was only after much deliberation that a ‘Not Guilty’ verdict was returned by the supporting professionals in this round. He paid tribute to the efforts of all QE entrants, whether defenders and prosecutors: “Both teams fought hard to influence the magistrates.”

In the second round, the QE defence team went up against another school, and again secured their desired ‘Not Guilty’ verdict.

Afterwards, QE participants reflect on how much they enjoyed taking part and on the competition’s benefits:

• Vase Pardeepan: “This experience was absolutely incredible, and to be able to compete against other schools and communicate with professional lawyers really helped me understand  my personal passion for the career of law.”
• Simi Bloom: “It was interesting to learn more about how legal proceedings work and the justice system. ‘Mock trial’ was a great way to learn to how respond when things don’t go your way, boosting public speaking skills and overall confidence. I think the experience largely encouraged teamwork, too, as well as establishing trust between one another.”
• Adam Liang: “Of the many other clubs and competitions that I have attended, this one was by far the best. Thank you for this amazing experience!”
• Adithya Raghuraman: “Despite perhaps not playing a very important role on my team, I still greatly enjoyed being a part of the whole experience, from attending on Wednesdays when the club began and auditioning for different parts, all the way to helping out with different things on the day of the competition itself. It has made me realise that I have a passion for law, and perhaps may pursue it in the future.”
• Vidyuth Shankar: “Personally, I found the mock trial competition quite refreshing. It encouraged us to work as a team and creatively and intuitively work out the best angles to a problem. I found performing my speech exciting and enjoyed working in a team.”

The other QE competitors were: Samhith Aggana; Devansh Jha; Muhamad Mohamed; Soham Kale; Daniel Moon; Sai Murarishetty; Daksh Vinnakota; Ash Iyer and Adokshaj Magge.

Year 13 debaters Ciaran Price and Christan Emmanuel successfully convinced their classmates to keep petrol and diesel-engined vehicles off the roads in the 55th Elizabethan Union Annual Dinner Debate.

The pair took on Old Elizabethan challengers Ravi Karia and Jathieesan Umaasuthan (both OE 2011–2018), who argued against the motion, This House would ban all non-electric vehicles.

The weekend event is tailored to give senior boys experience of the type of formal occasions they are likely to participate in at university and later in life.

Head of Academic Enrichment Nisha Mayer said: “This was a welcome return for our dinner debate after the disruption of the past two years. It was a relaxed, pleasantly lively evening, with an engaging debate that saw effective arguments made on both sides.”

A three-course meal, including vegan options, was served in the Dining Hall before the debate in the Main School Hall.

“Not only was it the first time some had worn black-tie, but I understand that one boy’s clip-on bow tie had been manufactured only that morning using a 3D printer!” added Mrs Mayer.

Lawyer Izzet Hassan (OE 2005–2021), the after-dinner speaker, “gave a very heartfelt speech, with recollections from his days at QE and really solid advice for Year 13 to take away”, Mrs Mayer added.

The evening included the traditional toasts to Queen Elizabeth II and to “the pious memory of Queen Elizabeth I”.

The visitors were formally proposed by the 2021 School Captain, Siddhant Kansal, of Year 13, while the Elizabethan Union was proposed by Izzet, who last month took up a new post with international law firm Kirkland & Ellis.

Accompanying Izzet was his contemporary, Oli Palmer, who is now a teacher. The pair plan to return for this November’s Old Elizabethan Association Dinner, along with others from their year group, who will make up this year’s ten-year leavers cohort at the event.

Other roles during the evening were undertaken by Year 13 pupils, with Utsav Atri the chairman and Jash Nanavati the designated photographer.

Votes were taken before and after the debate, both of which were in favour of the motion.

Two former classmates stressed the importance of being true to your authentic self as they spoke to sixth-formers about their lives and careers.

Arjun Paliwal and Matthew Chew, who both attended QE from 2006–2013 and were in the same Pearce form group, returned as guest speakers for the Year 12 luncheon. The annual event gives Year 12 boys the experience of the sort of formal meal, including speeches, that they are likely to encounter at university and in their later careers.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “The luncheon is part of our programme aimed at supporting boys in line with the commitment in our mission statement to produce young men who are ‘confident’ and to ‘nurture intellectual, verbal and social skills, giving pupils the ability to act appropriately in any situation’. It is also, of course, a nice opportunity to get together over a long lunch, with the boys being joined by their form tutors and by senior staff.

“My thanks go to Matthew and Arjun who had some sage advice for current Elizabethans as they developed their theme of authenticity with respect to their respective careers, as well as touching on their sexuality.

“I am also grateful to the volunteers from the Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s, as well as to some Year 9 helpers, who made the event possible and helped it run smoothly.”

The lunch was the first formal occasion presided over by the 2022 School Captain, Theo Mama-Kahn, who was the master of ceremonies. He was supported by Senior Vice-Captains Antony Yassa – who introduced Arjun and Matthew – and Ansh Jassra, who said the grace and delivered the vote of thanks following the speeches.

The two OEs both work in different roles within digital advertising – Matthew as a Paid Social Account Director at MediaCom UK and Arjun as a Client Solutions Manager, Luxury, for Meta (parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram). Both are also members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

In his speech, Arjun spoke of the importance of “finding and owning your rhythm”, which he defined as “the intersection of authenticity, energy and motion: knowing who you are, harnessing the energy that comes from that and then bringing it to everything you do”.

Doing so is difficult but nonetheless important, he said. He recounted his experience of debating with his parents whether or not to go to university: Arjun eventually went on to take a first in Fine Art at Oxford.

He added: “I came out as bisexual a couple of years ago and since then have not only felt prouder and more confident in myself, but I’ve also allowed my sexuality to become one of my superpowers. There are as many ways to be a man as there are men; we don’t have to be universal.”

Arjun also cited Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’ now-famous speech at Stanford University in 2005: “…you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”

He told the Year 12 boys: “I love this quote because it reminds me that going forward takes courage and authenticity…All you can really do is be the best version of yourself, own your rhythm and wear it proudly on your sleeve. Then let things fall into place around you. You’ll be well-armed to face the challenges that come and truly present to maximise the great moments that fill your world.”

For his part, Matthew recalled how he pursued his passion for German, spending time in Germany, where he still has many friends. He read German with Management Studies at UCL. Studying a language helped him think in a different way, he explained. He reserved special praise for the QE Languages department and was thrilled to catch up with Burgunde Lukasser-Weitlaner, Assistant Head of Languages (Modern), and Languages teacher Helen Shephard during his visit.

He stressed that “the path through life is not always a means to an end”, urging boys to own their decisions – “good and bad” – since “they make you who you are”, thus again corresponding to Steve Job’s maxim about joining the dots.

Matthew, who is a voice on LGBTQIA+ matters at a company-wide level, mentioned some of the initiatives he has been involved with, such as the move by Mars to replace the normal rainbow colouring of its Skittles sweets with grey to celebrate Pride Month.

With questions opened to the floor, the boys quizzed the pair on the use of targeted advertisements, given their respective roles in digital advertising. Arjun explained that, in his personal view, targeting was about showing people content they cared about, and that online advertising can be the lifeblood of many small businesses who would otherwise be really struggling. Matthew concurred, adding that there has been a big investment in processing data safely. It was noted that Meta has information about these matters on its privacy site.

All Year 7 boys took part in an inter-House photography competition with a difference – where what matters most is not the image, but what is said about it.

Conceived mainly as a public-speaking challenge to develop skills of oracy at an early age, the Year 7 Photo Competition takes as its judging criteria the content and delivery of the speeches the boys make, with their chosen photos serving as the starting point for their talks.

Arhan Panjwani, of Leicester House, took first prize with a talk that urged the grand final audience in the Main School Hall to consider the effect we are having on the world around us and to take action. It was illustrated by his aerial photo of the area near his home, taken by a drone.

Headmaster Neil Enright, who judged the final, said: “While it’s sometimes true that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ – the title of this year’s competition – on this occasion we were also very keenly interested in the words the boys came up with themselves!

“I am pleased to say that the standard of the finalists’ talks was very high indeed – everyone spoke eloquently and engaged the audience. There was considerable variety in theme and approach, which made it interesting and stimulating, not to mention difficult for me to judge. Arhan’s talk was most persuasive; he is a worthy winner.”

The competition began with all the Year 7 pupils trying out their speaking skills in their respective form groups and then choosing a winner to represent them and their House.

Boys were allowed to speak for up to three minutes about their photograph, but had to talk without notes. Merits were awarded for all six finalists, with 20 House points given for first place, 14 for second and 10 for third.

“The competition is, in fact, an excellent opportunity to develop skills of public speaking and to enjoy the collective experience of participating in a large-scale event together,” said the Headmaster. “Boys have an opportunity to learn how to construct a compelling speech and how to provoke thought in the audience. I also marked them on how well they projected and commanded attention in such a large venue, and on how they coped with an audience wearing masks, which made it difficult for them to gauge how their words were being received.

“The competition fulfils another important function in helping these, our newest Elizabethans, get to know others in their forms, with their chosen images and talks frequently giving an insight into each individual. Indeed, a number of the presentations included a personal element, such as a place the boy had visited or an experience from his younger childhood.”

“Notwithstanding such use of ‘human interest’ and the effective deployment of humour by some, many of the boys used their photo to make an important point and deliver a message with wide meaning, giving us plenty to think about.”

Mr Enright noted the strong use of facts by several of the finalists, especially second-placed Ethan Yao, of Pearce House, whose hard-hitting presentation arguing for nuclear disarmament was replete with shocking facts and statistics. It was illustrated by a photo of a mushroom cloud.

Third place was won by Yusuf Hazari, of Stapylton. His talk, illustrated by an image of a spider spinning a web, urged boys to be determined and resilient in their lives. Head of Year 7 Tom Harrison said: “The photo gave lots of us the heebie-jeebies, but Yusuf left us feeling empowered about facing life’s challenges!”