Three boys took part in the final of a prestigious London-wide debating competition after winning the Borough of Barnet heat.
Tej Mehta, of Year 10, and Zakariya Shah and Jamie Watkin-Rees from Year 9 competed in the Final Day of the London Debate Challenge held at SOAS, the School of Oriental and African Studies. They took part in three debates:
• This house would use nuclear rather than renewable energy sources to solve our energy crisis;
• This house believes reality TV does more harm than good;
• This house would legalise performance enhancing drugs in sport.
The competition is run by the English Speaking Union; more than 20 teams participated this year, representing different London boroughs.
The borough competition involved two debates. After the first, the two best teams subsequently progressed to the Borough Final. Borough winners then took part in Final Day, at which the two best teams competed in the Grand Final.
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“Although the boys did not make it to the Grand Final they competed really well, showing great debating skills as they represented the borough against tough opposition,” said History teacher Charlotte Coleman, who oversaw the boys’ involvement in the event.
The three were also invited to attend a local council meeting to observe a debate.
Earlier this year, Tej and Jamie were part of the team which won the regional heat of The International Competition for Young Debaters.