05 Dec 2024
This week, MRHS – Griffith students Sophie Webb and Alicia Newman debated against some of NSW’s finest at the State Debating Championship 2024.
The students joined the Riverina team under the guidance of MRHS – Griffith coach and champion of the spoken word Libby Ridgway. It was a competitive field, but the students performed admirably, placing 8th in the competition overall.
Over the three days, the team competed in five debates. The debaters remained enthusiastic throughout the competition despite the intensive schedule and were praised for their friendliness, positivity and inclusivity. The debating themed friendship bracelets they made for each other is tribute to the spirit of the Riverina team.
Some of the topics the debates covered were education, literature, democracy, law and order and social media. Students were given one hour to prepare for their debates armed with only pens, paper and their own knowledge of the subject. Their arguments were well considered and empathetic and were reflective of their own unique worldview and experiences.
After a convincing victory on the topic “all students should have to submit a major literary work in order to graduate high school”, the team were knocked out of the competition in the quarter finals by Southwest Sydney. The fact that Southwest Sydney went on to win the competition and the Lily Gunther Shield for best speaker overall took the sting out of the defeat.
“The team were incredibly mature and demonstrated a high quality of academic achievement,” recounts Riverina Regional Debating Coordinator Libby Ridgway, “It was a privilege to work with them. I really hope they found it a positive experience and learned plenty of things to help them improve in future.”
If you would like to compete in any of the wonderful debating opportunities our school has to offer, please speak to Miss Ridgway.
