Our first debate was against Reading School. We argued against the motion ‘The UK should adopt a written constitution.’ The debate opened with 3-minute-long opening statements from both sides, with Anya making the argument that constitutions are only valuable insofar as their authority is recognised by the institutions that exist to maintain them. This was a topic rich with examples such as unrest in the US, and actions undertaken by previous Conservative Prime Ministers that were deemed ‘unconstitutional’. In the end, Kendrick came out on top, beating Reading School by 15 points. 

Our second debate was against a mix of school debaters and members of the Youth Council. We argued for the motion ‘Zack Polanski’s plan to legalise all drugs would be an overall success.’ This was a difficult side to defend, especially considering Polanski’s new leadership of the Green Party and the lack of official written policy. However, the statistics seemed to be on our side, with examples such as Portugal and Canada demonstrating how this may actually benefit society. As Nadia argued in her opening statement, we cannot avoid the ‘fundamental truth – that the war on drugs has failed.’ 

At the end of the evening, points were tallied, and we were so happy to hear that Kendrick School won the Debate Competition overall, beating the reigning champions – Reading Boys.

Debate Club will continue to run and prepare for the competition next month with new motions and new competitors. Please do come along if you’re interested – we’d love to have you! 

By Anya, Nadia, Ria and Roberta