Four members of the HeronBridge College debating team won the South African Council for English Education online debating championships recently, despite the challenges of lockdown.
HeronBridge debating coach Christine Churchyard said Sacee ran the largest schools’ debating league in Gauteng with between 90 and 110 schools taking part. This year, more than 40 teams made it through to the championships.
She added, “The competition tests students’ general knowledge, analytical ability, deductive and indicative reasoning, responsiveness to argumentation and public speaking skills.”
In this year’s competition, both HeronBridge junior debating teams broke into the quarter-finals. One team was knocked out in this round while the other went on to win the competition. Members of the winning team were Jessica Biesman-Simons, Jessica Robus, Briana Tomlinson and Aimée Crane. Biesman-Simons was also ranked sixth in the individual rankings.
“Quite simply, we have a phenomenal group of junior debaters, who have worked exceptionally hard this year, particularly during lockdown.”
She explained that debating was primarily a matter of mental and intellectual gymnastics, requiring mental acuity that few other activities demanded. Debaters also need broad general and global knowledge across a variety of issues coupled with a dynamic public speaking ability.
“The sky is the limit for debaters. After Sacee champs they qualify for Gauteng champs. From there they can be selected to speak at the national championships from where a South African team is selected to speak at the world championships.
“The skills, knowledge and experience they acquire through debating set them apart, particularly in a very competitive academic world, and in a workspace where communication is key.”
