LIKE a phoenix from the ashes, the Kloof High School (KHS) Debating Society experienced a legendary rebirth as the Junior and Senior teams firmly made their mark within the KZN Debating sphere.

The art of rhetoric and debating at Kloof High had fallen to the wayside after the club closed in 2018, but in 2023, Debating was revived by history educator and former debater, Miss Duke. The newly formed Debating Society started out as a cluster of enthusiastic young learners who had never experienced the thrill of debating, but who were eager to learn a new skill and hone their public speaking abilities.

With only a few mock debates under their belts, the KHS Debaters entered the Durban Coastal Debating League (DCDL) in 2024. Facing off in battles of wit and intellect against schools with deeper roots in the art of debating, Kloof High was undaunted by the challenge. These learners held their own through determination and passion, diligently working their way through each debate, absorbing and developing skills and knowledge as they went along.

Now, in 2026, the Kloof High School Debating Society has reached new heights within the KZN Debating community. Led by chairpersons Gabrielle Govender and Mishka Hubraj, and vice-chairpersons Aziza Zuma and Luthando Zulu, the KHS Debating teams reached incredible milestones. Not only were two Kloof High learners, Nomvelo Ntombela and Ngcebo Manyathi, elected as representatives for the Durban Coastal Debating League Student Council this year, but the Junior team went through the preliminary League rounds and Octo-Finals, advancing to the quarter-final round.

In addition to Kloof High’s successes within the League debates, they also participated in their first ever debating tournament, Durban Dialogue. Competing against schools from across the province, Kloof High’s teams not only learned valuable rhetorical techniques, but the Junior team qualified for the quarter-finals, with Grade Nine speaker Alyssa Govender placing sixth for Best Speaker out of approximately 40 Junior candidates.

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The cherry on top for the KHS Debating Society this year is having not one, but two learners selected to participate in the KZNSDA Provincial Championship, where they competed for a spot on the KZN Provincial Debating teams. Grade 11 speaker and student representative, Ngcebo Manyathi, represented Kloof High in the Senior division, with his team winning three of the six preliminary rounds. In the Junior division, Govender’s team not only won four of the six preliminary rounds, but also competed in the quarter-final of the tournament. Govender placed fifth Best Junior Speaker overall and was selected for the KZN Junior Debating Squad.

While the progress of the Debating Society has brought pride and prestige to Kloof High School, the impact that this venture has had on the learners themselves cannot go unmentioned. Over the past few years, while dealing with many trials and tribulations, the Debaters of KHS have come to see the club as more than just a platform upon which to perfect their public speaking skills. The club itself has become a space in which like-minded learners have developed a sense of camaraderie, where they can engage in intellectual discussion, where senior learners have become mentors to juniors, and where the KHS motto of “One family, one school” has truly come to life.

To quote Debating chairperson Hubraj (Grade 12), “Debating is such a huge part of our lives and I know it has personally shaped who I am and everything I’ve been able to accomplish. The things this club has taught me and continues to teach me have been invaluable and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Although it was certainly a mammoth task to start from scratch, the KHS Debating Society has risen to the challenge and is ready to continue making its mark and leaving its legacy in the world of public speaking.

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