but I’ve also had the privilege of being interviewed by The Times, meeting Princess Anne, and performing in a show debate at Dartmouth House. The opportunity to expand my debating horizons outside Dulwich, and debate with competitors from other schools, all with different strengths, has really allowed me to change the way I think about debating, especially as a team game. Debating with Team England has also made me think more about issues in more of a global context and I hope to carry this open-mindedness about the universality of pressing global issues not
Theopportunity to see, andnowtohelp coach, theemerginggenerations ofDulwich debatershasbeena fantasticone
only to the World Schools Championship in Stuttgart this July but beyond. However, undoubtedly one of the best things about debating this year has been the training sessions within the Dulwich College Debating society.
The opportunity to see, and now to help coach, the emerging generations of Dulwich debaters has been a fantastic one and it is clear that their success will continue long into the future – even if their social lives continue to suffer.
OA INTERVIEW ‘BE WILLING TO WORK HARD’
Joe Atkinson (Year 9) caught up with three former OA debaters to find out how debating had inf luenced them and what it meant to them now
OAs Will Cook, Raffy Marshall and Ronan Patrick have travelled the world. Ireland, Singapore, Greece, Denmark, Slovenia, Turkey, Thailand and the US can all be seen in the passports of these OAs. In Texas, they have stayed with a billionaire who had an item belonging to every former US president, along with statues of former dictators in their garden. They didn’t go to those places because they have a passion for totalitarian statuary, but because they have all represented Team England for debating, with Will Cook and another OA Louis Collier being part of the England team that won the World Schools’ Debating Championship in 2014. As an avid new debater on the Dulwich scene, there was only one way to start: I asked them about the funniest motion they had ever debated. I am genuinely saddened that I couldn’t see Raffy contesting ‘This house prefers Australia to America’, with his Australian partner impersonating an emu. More difficult and absurd was Will’s offering: ‘This House believes that the opposition is winning this debate’. Ronan’s funniest motion was also his least favourite, ‘This House would, as Katniss Everdeen, not enter the Hunger Games’. Raffy: It started with strong parental pressure, but, once I started, I realised that debating is uniquely exciting intellectually. It’s one of very few activities where, when you’re focused on it, your mind is completely clear of anything else. Also, I have met almost all the most interesting and fun people I know through debating. Will: I went to Debating Club in the Junior School when it was run by Keith Stintson – I used to love speaking at every opportunity and from then on I just started doing more and more. Sadly, I’ve not What first got you into debating and do you still do it?
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