“Impressive and thorough”: QE pair progress in national debating competition

Two QE Sixth-Formers saw off strong competition to win the latest round of the UK’s oldest and largest debating competition for schools.

The winning team, Ché Applewhaite and Ridwan Uddin, of Year 12 (pictured below), beat teams from schools including Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ and University College (UCS) in the English Speaking Union’s Schools Mace competition. St John’s Senior School and Whitmore High School also took part.

All teams had already had to qualify to reach this round, with QE having competed successfully in Round 1 at ‘Habs’ before Christmas. QE will now go on to the regional final in March – the only team from the latest heat to progress. If they are successful at regional level, they will compete in the national final in the summer held at the ESU's headquarters in Mayfair, Dartmouth House (pictured top).

Hosted by QE, Round 2 was organised by Nisha Mayer, teacher in charge of debating and Head of Academic Enrichment and by History teacher Lottie Coleman.

There were three debates in total. QE’s winning team opposed the motion: ‘This House would prohibit British companies from trading with governments that criminalise homosexuality’. It was proposed by UCS.

Congratulating Ché and Ridwan, Mrs Mayer said: “They very impressively and thoroughly defeated the motion presented by UCS. This is only the third time a team from QE has progressed to this stage in ten years.”

QE also entered a ‘swing’ team (a non-qualifying team entered to strengthen the field), comprising Year 11 boys Ravi Karia and Jathieesan Umaasuthan (pictured right). They opposed St John's, who proposed that: ‘This house would ban all non-essential cosmetic surgery’. They also competed really well in what was their first inter-school debate, added Mrs Mayer, who concluded: “A very good night for QE debating.”