Smethwick school celebrating after finishing second place in national competition
A team of students from Holly Lodge High School in Smethwick, are celebrating after winning the West Midlands Secondary School regional Debate Mate final, at Birmingham University in April, moving into the grand finals at Salesforce Tower in Central London, where they finished second place on 25 June.
For the last two years, the debate team, consisting of students from Years 7 to 10, at Holly Lodge High School, has practised with dedicated staff members in after school clubs. They have advanced in confidence and learnt how to marshal arguments.
The Debate Mate programmes increase student abilities such as confidence, teamwork, and leadership. They work with schools in areas of higher deprivation, to raise aspirations and help students to make informed future choices.
The team have travelled the West Midlands to debate other school teams and went on to win the regional finals in April. They then travelled to London for two rounds of finals where they finished second place in the nationwide grand final. This is a massive triumph and the students worked so hard to achieve it. The final debate topic was ‘This house regrets the commercialisation of social movements.’ The Central Foundation Boys School in London took first place.
By Jo Davies - Contributor
