Published on: 18 October 2018


Year 11 students David Lind, Matthew Darley, Patrick Mahony and Josh Coales put in a tough argument at this week’s British Parliamentary Western Australian Debating League (WADL) Grand Final held at the University of Western Australia, seeing David and Matthew come through as runners up.

In pairs, the boys debated the topic domestic duty should be subsidised under the BP style of debating. Representing the Government were members David and Matthew, and representing the Opposition were members Patrick and Josh.

“It was a pleasure to watch our teams rise to the challenge as both sides presented strong cases, each adding their own theatrical flair, that’s typical of a Parliamentary debate,” said Debating Teacher, Ms Bec Cain.

“Congratulations to Patrick, David, Matthew and Josh on making it this far in the competition. BP Debating demands strong debating skills and they performed exceptionally well in the Grand Final.”

British Parliamentary (BP) Debating is based on the style of debating which takes place in the British Parliament and involves four teams of two who compete against each other. The debate is divided across two houses; the Government who proposes the motion (topic) and the Opposition who opposes the motion.

Debating Teacher Ms Clare Macfarlane commented, “This year we had eight teams participate in various WADL competitions including one Year 9 team and seven Year 11 teams.”

“Boys from Years 7 to 12 are provided information throughout the year and sign up based on personal interest. It is quite a different style of debating which proves to be valuable practice for Senior impromptu debates in WADL where students are given the topic one hour before a debate.”

“We have been greatly impressed with the boys’ commitment to Debating and furthering their skills. Our Year 9 participants, for example, are already very strong debaters and have shown much maturity. We look forward to following their debates in 2019.”

Any students who would like to participate in Debating and develop their public speaking skills are encouraged to sign up. Contact Clare Macfarlane for further details.