T he standard format for a debate is for each round to contain four teams, with two proposing and two opposing. All speeches are expected to last five minutes, and at the end the speakers are ranked from first to fourth. Reaching the semi-finals requires at least two firsts and two seconds, but Dulwich have been known to make semi-finals on all wins, including in two competitions this year. Whilst motions are usually relatively clear and easy to understand, they sometimes require a certain degree of interpretation and skilful, though never technically illegal, manipulation. The most outstanding example from this year would DEBATING: HOW IT WORKS Christoph Marshall
probably be Dulwich being given the job of proposing ‘This House prefers a Donald Trump presidency to a Bernie Sanders presidency’ at Oxford, in which getting through a speech without repeating any of the billionaire-turned- politician’s ill-fated remarks proved difficult. The team in question decided to argue not that Donald’s presidency would be beneficial, but that it would be so awful that politicians of his kind would never take office ever again, which was skilfully presented throughout not as deviating from the motion but literally as presenting an ‘alternative reality’, much to the surprise of the audience.
W hen I was told that I was being called upon for a contribution to The Alleynian , the suggestion was made that I keep a diary. Whilst I have not quite managed that, I have gathered together a collection of anecdotes that may be of mild interest to some. It might be difficult to imagine why any rational teenager would volunteer their time to argue with others in the stuffy hallways of London universities, I maintain that the debating society is by far the best society on offer at Dulwich. The constant academic vigour that debating encourages can never fail to excite those in the pursuit of endless knowledge, and there isn’t anything else I would otherwise be doing – debaters tend not to be renowned for their extensive social calendars anyway. The first story takes place at the final of SOAS Schools. Christoph and I were poised in opening opposition on the motion about a hypothetical drug that offers immortality to those who take it. We ran points about the perils of overpopulation and how the distribution of the drug would be taken over by the likes of GlaxoSmithKline; CAPTAIN’S LOG Team England Captain Kenza Wilks (Year 12) shares the highlights of a year
but in the end we managed to argue that it would lead simultaneously to mass overpopulation and the complete elimination of younger generations. Thankfully, only we seemed to notice the contradiction, and Christoph and I managed to win our first competition together after more than three years of competitive debating. I later had the opportunity to debate with one of my heroes, Ben Woolgar, the former coach of Team England, at the LSE Open, a competition open to any entrants predominantly those attending universities across the UK, and the basis for a second reminiscence. After being carried through a series of preliminary rounds, we reached the final of the two-day-long competition and were confronted by a motion that suggested people be allowed to sign contracts that cede their future rights (for example selling themselves into slavery). Despite the challenge, we persevered and somehow managed to win the final of the competition. Yet another fantastic experience this year has been training with Team England. Not only has it given me the opportunity to practise my debating even more intensively
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