Debating

House Debating

Congratulations to Benilde House, the 2019 House Debating Champions!

Debating is a very practical and fun way of learning and developing the skills of the 21st Century workplace: problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, presentation and public speaking.  It further provides opportunity for debaters to engage with topical issues, becoming better informed students and citizens of active voice. For all of these reasons and more, St Bede’s hosts an annual House Debating competition, open to all students from Years 10-12. This year, teams from the four houses debated over whether or not “technology makes us more alone” and whether “natural talent is more important than hard work”.

 The Grand Final was closely contested between Solomon and Benilde, on the concept that “people should be fined for not recycling”. Seasoned Solomon debaters, Elijah Barrett, Billy Bunn and Flynn Morley convinced us all of the dire need to change our consumer habits, our attitudes to recycling and to recognise the very real problem of mounting waste in Australia for which responsibility must be taken. Just as passionate were the boys from Benilde, boldly asserting that waste was indeed a consumer problem, before outlining their model to tackle it from the corporate sector down. In a tight battle, let alone an outstanding exhibition of passionate and skilled debating, there was ultimately no answer to the barrage of rebuttal from Dillon Bulman, narrowly edging out Solomon for a Benilde victory. Congratulations to Tyler Wooley, Angus O’Toole and Dillon Bulman, House Debating Champions for 2019.

Thank you to Andrew Beaumont for facilitating the competition, to Louise Doyle and Carl De Souza for co-adjudicating and to Lauren Gates for hosting the event in the college library.

Kaylene Menara

Debating Coordinator, 2019