On the 24th of February, we had the pleasure of being able to participate in the Interschool MFL debating competition at the Cathedral School. Both A-level and GCSE students were presented with this opportunity, and we all came out with a sense of confidence in our Spanish abilities and a feeling of great achievement. 

Although we went in split into Team A and Team B, we had a united team spirit throughout the evening, constantly helping each other with not just arguments and statistics, but moral support. Our motion was ‘Las fiestas populares como la Tomatina tienen muy poco que ver con la cultura de los países hispanohablantes’ (Popular festivals, like la Tomatina have very little to do with the culture of Spanish-speaking countries). Both teams took part in a total of 4 rounds, each debate being dictated by blindly choosing a card for a favor (proposition) or en contra (opposition). Every round was met with a fierce debating spirit from all, and whilst not every round went our way, we always put up a fight and came back stronger based on helpful feedback from the judges. 

Each team would begin with a one minute, short yet sharp opening speech, followed by a heated ten minute open debate section, where students could go back and forth with questions and answers to argue their case. Finally, we had one minute concluding speeches, summarising main points, as a way to convince the judges why they had won the debate. Team A managed to win two out of four of our rounds, and Team B won three out of four, only missing out on the final. Whilst it was a close competition, St John’s came out in the 2nd and 3rd place, with Team B taking place in what proved to be a tumultuous final against the Cathedral team. We all felt immensely proud of each other by the end of the evening, and are so glad to have been given this wonderful opportunity.

Matilda Davies, L6