Category: Debating

4 April 23

On Monday 13 March, three students from Habs Girls competed in the regional final of the ESU Churchill Public Speaking Competition at Dartmouth House in London. The students had successfully competed in two previous rounds and were excited for the regional final. Tamara (M5 A) gave a thoughtful and thought-provoking speech on the topic of…

23 March 21

The 12th annual HABSMUN conference was held on 13 and 14 March, online this year for the first time. All delegates were extremely excited to take part since last year’s conference was cancelled, and I, along with others in Lower 6, was looking forward to chairing for the first time. With over 250 delegates from…

5 March 21

Over two weekends in February, a group of students from the Lower Sixth participated in the regional rounds of the European Youth Parliament (EYP) competition. Students were each assigned a committee to work with, made up of students from across the South East.  The committees created and then presented resolutions on prevalent real-world issues in…

9 February 21

On Monday 1 February, a team comprised of three Upper 5 students, Claudia, Madison and Helena (pictured left to right), entered the ESU’s Public Speaking Competition. They tell us a bit about the experience here. “For the first time ever, it was held on Zoom but that did nothing to diminish the high standard of…

1 February 21

On Monday 11 January, Emma, Tilly (pictured) and Victoria from the Lower 6 took part in the English-Speaking Union Mace Debating competition. Due to Coronavirus restrictions, the debate took place over Zoom, which presented the students with a new and exciting format to debate their motion; government economic policy should prioritise the collective happiness and…

11 March 20

On Saturday 7 March, a team of three from Habs Girls competed at the East Region Finals of the English Speaking Union’s Public Speaking Competition. The competition took place in the prestigious surroundings of Magdelene College, Cambridge, before a distinguished panel of three judges. Jamila in her role as Speaker, had to present a five-minute…

28 January 20

On Tuesday 21 January, two teams from Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls competed in the prestigious ESU Public Speaking Competition Hertfordshire Regional Round held at Aldenham School. Both of the Habs Girls teams (comprising a Questioner, Chairperson and Speaker) had to compete against several other schools for the position of best overall team. The judges…

26 November 19

Upper 6 students Anya, Elisa, Ruby and Rhea took part in the Joutes Oratoires 2019 held at North London Collegiate School. The motions were: Liberté, égalité, fraternité: une fiction française. La mondialisation mène inévitablement à l’uniformisation culturelle. Il n’y a que les Etats qui puissent sauver la planète. Ruby and Rhea reached the semi-final after…

20 November 19

It’s been an exciting week for debating and public speaking here at Habs Girls. On Monday 18 November, a team comprising Maryam M, Priya K and Shalini S participated in the English Speaking Union’s prestigious Mace debate at North London Collegiate School. The motion was ‘This House Believes that an individual should be restricted to…

11 October 19

“It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.” – Igor Recently, seven Sixth Formers visited Hamburg after winning the opportunity to represent the UK at the European Youth Parliament. Split into teams of 13 students from across Europe, they spent the subsequent days discussing the problems posed to their committees. This problem-solving involved:…