Students excel at Mersey Schools Debating Competition

On Saturday, 29 April, eight students took part in the first Mersey Schools Debating competition. 

The competition took place online with schools taking part from around the UK, as well as further afield. 

Comprising of a mixture of experienced and first time debaters, the King’s team were presented with a variety of topics to debate and had just 15 minutes to prepare their arguments before each round. 

There were notable performances from Rohith Muthuvelu (L6DUT) and Adam John (L6GLA) who placed first as a novice team, and Charlie Marshall (L6LES) and Samya Saha (L6WAL) who placed as third best team in the open final. 

Ms Rutberg runs the weekly Senior Debating Society and was with the the students on the day of the competition.

She said: “This was a long day for the students but they were superb throughout, working collaboratively and supporting each other throughout the competition.

“The standard of debate was very high with first and second place going to Eton teams, but our students more than held their own and I am excited about the future of debate at King’s.”

This year’s event was the first time that the Mersey Schools Debating Competition has been held. Organisers James Thompson and Olivia Mackender were delighted with the standard of debate from the schools who entered and hope to be able to hold the event in person on the Liverpool University campus next year. 

Congratulations to all members of the team, some of whom are pictured here with Ms Rutberg:

• Alessandra Foglio (3DUT)
• Ben Threadgold (L6LES)
• Lukas Pold (5LES)
• Gwen Olson (L6GRO)
• Adam John (L6GLA)
• Rohith Muthuvelu (L6DUT)
• Samya Saha (L6WAL)
• Charlie Marshall (L6LES)

Senior Debating Society meets on Tuesday lunchtimes and is open to all students from Fourths upwards. This term, students in Thirds are also very welcome to come along and join in.