Another Success for TBSHS Speakers

Above: Mace Team 2025

Accompanied by a faithful band of supporters, Sixth Form debaters Henry Aylett, Robert Gor & Kashan Johar travelled to Monk’s Walk School in Welwyn Garden City to take on five other teams in the second round of the ESU Mace competition, aiming to be one of two schools progressing to the Eastern Region final.

We had been drawn to speak against our hosts in the first debate of the evening, proposing the motion “This House Believes that globalisation perpetuates social inequity”. Opening the debate, Robert laid out his case very clearly, defining the terms of the motion and drawing particular attention to the word “perpetuates”. He explained that to support the motion, it was not necessary to believe that globalisation was the initial, or even the only cause of social inequity. He went on to demonstrate the causal links between the two in both economic and societal terms, making excellent use of a variety of sources to support his case. The first speaker of the inexperienced Monk’s Walk team mentioned the benefits of globalisation, but did not really engage with the thrust of Robert’s arguments, arguing that natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes caused more inequity than globalisation. However, he conceded that globalisation also had an effect.

This admission was picked up by the TBSHS team, both in Points of Information and in Kashan’s speech. As well as explaining the ways in which globalisation harms cultural bonds between nations and especially within developing countries, thus perpetuating social inequity, he pointed out that the harms identified by Robert were much more widespread and damaging than the benefits identified by his opponent. The second Opposition speaker continued in a similar vein to his predecessor, laying the blame for inequity between countries on colonisation, which prompted Henry to point out that colonisation was an early form of globalisation.

After speeches and questions from audience members not connected with the two schools, the third Monk’s Walk speaker summarised his side’s case, reiterating his teammates’ arguments that globalisation was not the greatest cause of social inequity and placing an emphasis on the idea that interconnection through social media had reduced inequity. In response, Henry argued that social media had actually caused polarisation rather than unity, leading to greater social inequity. He went on to deal very well with points raised in the floor debate and to sum up the case for the motion, identifying the points of clash and explaining why our arguments outweighed those against them. 

L – R:  Robert, Henry & Kashan

It was clear that TBSHS had won this debate, but there were potentially strong teams still to come in the other two clashes. The next motion was “This House Believes that music should not be copyrightable”. St.Columba’s School from St Albans, proposing, argued that copyright benefits big record companies and  disadvantages emerging artists, who cannot afford the fees. Their speeches were generally well-structured, but perhaps rather over-prepared, with little effective rebuttal of opposing arguments. In contrast, the team from King Edward VI Grammar School (Chelmsford) countered St Columba’s points effectively and their arguments that the motion would stifle creativity and leave musicians at the mercy of AI were more convincing. All three of their speeches were very clearly structured and linked well with each other.

In the final debate, St Mark’s Catholic School from Harlow proposed the introduction of a tax on fatty foods, with St Albans School for Girls in opposition. This was the most closely-fought contest of the night, with both sides putting forward arguments and counter-arguments. The Proposition drew attention to the prevalence of obesity in the UK and pointed out the success of similar policies restricting sugar levels in drinks and banning smoking in public places., as well as potential benefits to the NHS. However, their standard of presentation left something to be desired, with little vocal variety or eye contact with the audience. The Opposition spoke very well, arguing that the tax would be regressive, hitting disadvantaged households harder than the wealthy and suggested that subsidies for healthy foods would be preferable. They also said that obesity is not just caused by fatty foods and recommended more education about the importance of exercise. Unfortunately, some of their other points were less well made and they suffered from time management problems.

After a nervous wait for teams and coaches alike, the ESU adjudicator praised the overall high standard of debating and announced that TBSHS & KEGS would progress to the regional final. Afterwards he praised our speakers for the clarity with which they set out their case, the persuasive manner of their speaking and the way that they worked as a team, listening to opposing arguments and challenging them.

Mace team & supporters

Retired teacher Tony Fraser commented, “This was a challenging round for our speakers, proposing the most demanding motion of the evening against a team that did not give them a lot to work against. However, they had prepared extremely thoroughly and put on a very pleasing performance to take them through to our eleventh consecutive regional final of this national competition that attracts nearly 400 schools every year. I was particularly impressed by their relentless focus on the essential meaning of the motion. It was also very pleasing to see that we also had the best supported team, with eight of their fellow Sixth Formers giving up their evenings to attend,. Many thanks to these supporters and our minibus driver Mr Boxall and congratulations to Kashan, Henry & Robert”.