The best experience I have ever had.

You should really try this experience, because you won’t ever forget it.

I’m so excited to be an ambassador for my country. I want to motivate every single person to take part in this competition – for the new experience, for the new people, and for the feedback you get. The judges and the coaches were super friendly – I had an amazing time.

The ESU’s free resources have enabled me to diversify my classroom a little bit. I often will bring in a debating measure, or public speaking measure, that maybe I wouldn’t have bothered with if the resources weren’t there, but the children really, really enjoy it’.

I started debate because I don’t like talking, I’m quite socially anxious,  but I quickly realised it was something I was actually good at despite that. I’m quite a rational person, and so much of debating is fact-finding and coming up with good arguments. I just find it so interesting – you get so much knowledge about things you’d never think you’d care about, but you do

The participants broached some difficult subjects around how freedom of expression isn’t available to all young people. They showed intense sensitivity, but also, they’re smart and I think that combination is very encouraging for the future.

A big thank you to everyone who’s put the programme together.

Debate is a good way of improving the students’ cultural capital – giving them the skills they need to go into higher education, building up their confidence, and helping them to develop arguments, which translates to their written skills.

I now deliver ESU speaking or debating workshops every month in a satisfyingly diverse range of schools.

This is all the joy of teaching young people, minus the marking, planning and petty bureaucracy that most teachers suffer the burden of. I love the challenge of enthusing a group of (often shy and tongue-tied) teenagers.

By the end, everyone has had a chance to speak. Quiet pupils learn that they have a lot to offer, whilst confident children learn the value of listening and respecting other points of view.

‘Being able to think on your feet and respond to what other people say, using evidence and reasoning to back up your arguments – these are life skills that everybody needs,’

Debating is such a great skill for young people to learn. It teaches you to think critically, to research and, most importantly, it teaches you not to be taken in by the easy or the obvious argument. When we’re faced with fake news, we need citizens of the world who are intelligent, who are critical, who are questioning the information they are presented with.

The impact of the day extended far beyond the immediate experience, as evidenced by the numerous emails from parents expressing their delight. Parents reported that their children returned home enthusiastic and animated about the day’s activities. In the post-COVID era, there has been a heightened emphasis on oracy and communication in UK schools, making this workshop timely and invaluable for providing students with the opportunity to shine.

Learning these skills at this age puts you in such a good position for the rest of your life. To have confidence in how to construct an argument, how to tell stories, how to interact with an audience, and how to feel grounded in your delivery, is always going to be an asset going forward.

More than that though, this competition allows participants to realise that there are people from halfway around the world who they may have more in common with than someone who’s in the same class as them at home. You start to see all the richness of difference and diversity, and how valuable that is.