DEBATING students tackled tricky topics in a contest held at Burnley College.
Nine students from Whitworth Community High School took part in the Burnley College school debating competition when they faced schools from Rossendale, Burnley, Pendle and Accrington.
Although they didn’t make it through to the final, the team successfully argued their point that a gender quota among a workforce was unfair, although they failed to get approval for television licences to be abolished.
The team worked together to come up with their opening and closing speeches, which four members then delivered.
They then got to face the judges and the opposition.
Once their arguments had been tabled in two threeminute speeches, the students faced questions from the judges, the audience and the opposing school.
Before the contest, the team shared thoughts and statistics on their given subjects.
On the day, Oliver Norris, 13, found himself a last minute replacement to deliver the opening speech in his team’s opposition to gender quotas.
He said: “I stepped in for a Year 10 who couldn’t make it and so, although I had contributed to the group document, I had not prepared a speech because I didn’t know I would be talking.
“I was very nervous, but really glad I did it.”
Student Jack Myatt, 14, successfully secured two bars of chocolate by coming up with the best audience question twice.
He said: “In the final, which was about free speech on social media, one team had discussed about government being allowed to control what people said.
“My question was, if government was allowed to decide whether people can speak freely on social media, wouldn’t that be just one step towards an authoritarian state?”
Jack said he enjoyed being in the school debating society because he enjoyed working with students from different years and making new friends.
Katie Bray, 14, said: “It was really exciting to be in the competition and I learned a lot through it.
“I have also become more confident to ask questions and I asked a question in one of the debates.”
Shazia Iqbal, director of learning for culture, leads the successful weekly lunchtime debating session in school, supported by Taqueer Khan, which is regularly attended by about 70 students.