RHODESFIELD Technical High School’s (THS) junior and senior debate team have had a great debating year and both teams have scooped a number of awards over the past few months.
The debate teams will also be competing in the Orate Africa Championships to be held in Botswana in December.
During the Gauteng debate league, both the school’s junior and senior teams were defeated in the quarter finals seeing them finish seventh of the top eight schools. Two seniors and five juniors then went on to make it into the top 10 speakers of the league, going on to receive gold medals and certificates.
The senior team went on to win the Eastern South African Council for English Education (SACEE) trophy, with the juniors making headway to be the provincial SACEE’s number four. Seven of the debaters – both juniors and seniors – received certificates for being in the top 10 best speakers; with one debater scooping the Eastern SACEE best junior speaker trophy.
At the Constitutional Hill League, the junior team won the Conhill Trophy and are the Grand Champions. The seniors were placed sixth in the same league.
The Gauteng provincial schools debating championships saw the junior team reaching the top and scooping the Junior Gauteng Provincial Schools Debating Championships (GPSDC) title, with five from Rhodesfield THS among the top 10 provincial best speakers who won gold medals and certificates.
Those five learners were also selected for the provincial team which will compete at the South African National Schools Debating Championships from December 9 to 15, in a province to be announced at a later stage.
The students stand a chance to be selected for the South African Schools Debating team in 2017.
