Winchester Triumphs at the London French Debates
On Tuesday 1st February, four Sixth Form pupils took part in the Central London regional round of the National Schools’ French Debating Competition. This is an annual competition for A-level French students from some of the country’s top schools, who compete in pairs, debating complex topical motions in French.
Hosted by St Paul’s Girls’ School in Hammersmith, this year’s edition of the highly demanding competition featured talented teams from Eton, Westminster, St Paul’s, KCS, Sevenoaks, Tiffin, Dulwich and many others. Despite the high-quality opposition, both Winchester pairs managed to secure impressive victories in the opening rounds, with James and Arthur ultimately going on to win the entire regional competition on 8th February, defeating an exceptionally strong team from King’s College Wimbledon in the final.
This is the first time a team from Winchester has triumphed at this prestigious event. The victory is notably impressive given the strength of opponents, the difficulty of the motions, and the minimal preparation time for the final debate (a mere twenty minutes). The regional final saw James and Arthur arguing passionately and persuasively that Western countries should boycott the current Beijing Winter Olympics.
James and Arthur will now progress to the national grand final, to be held at the French Institute in March. We wish them the very best of luck in this final challenge!
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