Whether your school has a long history of debating or is competing for the first time, Debating Matters gives 16 to 18 year olds the opportunity to explore key controversies shaping public life, in a unique, accessible 'substance over style’ format.
Attracting a diverse range of schools and colleges, the experience will test students’ ability not only to make a structured and persuasive argument, but also to respond under pressure, think on their feet, and produce the evidence to back up their arguments.
Debating Matters is one of the most fun, but beneficial, extracurricular activities that schools can be involved in. This competition is great preparation for further academic study and for their professional lives."
Mary Curnock Cook, Chief Executive, UCAS
To succeed, students will have to take ideas (and themselves) seriously, to research around their topics, articulate the principles at play, and be questioned by a range of top adult judges representing academic institutions, businesses, political parties, and a range of media outlets.
As Samantha Cooke, a competitor from Withington Girls’ School in Manchester, will testify: ‘Debating Matters really hammers home the value of substance over style. It's given me the grace of accepting it is better to lose on weak arguments than to win through disingenuity.’
Applications are open to compete in upcoming Debating Matters qualifying rounds across the country.
UCAS is a proud sponsor of Debating Matters. Find out more at www.debatingmatters.com.