TBSHS Debaters Reach Two International international Finals

 ICYD Reg 2026 Team                                                                        Cambs Regional Team

ICYD Regional Round

As usual, we entered a full complement of four teams in the regional qualifying round of the International Competition for Young Debaters, held at the Cambridge University Union. Taking on 32 other teams were seasoned Year 10 campaigners Noah Brown, Joshua Tsang & Calum Tait, Year 9 students Sam Greenwood, Ben Nosworthy & Stan Wadsworth and, making their interschool debating debuts, Tom Boxford & Josh Smith of Year 8.

The first motion of the day was “This House Would require important medical decisions about children to be taken by doctors, rather than parents”. Tom & Josh were drawn to speak second against this motion and were perhaps unlucky to be given only third place. Meanwhile Noah & Joshua and Calum & Stan, each team leading the case against the motion, both opened their accounts with pleasing first places. Ben & Sam, closing in favour, secured a good second place to complete a very encouraging morning’s work.

Tom & Josh                                                                                          Ben & Sam 

After lunch, teams had to consider whether or not the payment of ransoms should be banned.

In this round, two of our teams were required to open the debate in their respective rooms. Sam and Ben seemed a little surprised when the judge awarded them a win over three teams from independent schools, a result matched by Joshua & Noah. Unfortunately, Josh & Tom found themselves up against two strong teams from Berkhamsted Girls School and had to be content with fourth place. Stan & Calum closed the case against the motion and secured second place, ahead of teams from Oundle and the Perse.

So TBSHS entered the last round of debates with one team at the top of the ‘league table’ and two more not far behind. The system employed in these events meant that all three of them would face demanding opposition. Ben & Sam probably had the easiest task, speaking first against the motion “This House Opposes the prominence of antiheroes in popular media”. They made the most of their good fortune, gaining another victory, which propelled them into second place in the overall table. Noah & Joshua, closing in support of the motion in the same room came third, a result matched by Tom & Josh in their debate. Despite some well-directed rebuttal of their opponents’ points, Calum & Stan received an undeserved (in my opinion) fourth place.

 Calum & Stan                                                                                   Noah & Joshua 

Despite the disappointments of the last debate, Joshua & Noah held on to fourth place overall, meaning that they joined Sam & Ben in qualifying for International Finals’ Day, which will be held at the Oxford University Union in May. Stan & Calum gained a very creditable 13th place, while Josh & Tom, who will be eligible for this competition for two more years, gained valuable experience in finishing 30th.

Cambridge Schools Regional Round

Three weeks later, four pairs of students from Years 11 to 13 travelled to the same venue with hopes of emulating our ICYD teams. The motion for the first round was “This House Would prioritise policies that benefit renters rather than house buyers”. In only their second interschool event, Harrison Parkes & Padraig Rees (Year 12), opening the debate in their room, gained a very pleasing win. This result was matched by Year 11 students Felix Kenyon-Muir & Thomas Leung, closing for the motion and J J Sathan & Mirko Kacsor of Year 13, who spoke first against. Unfortunately, Emaelia Elliott & Evie O’Flaherty (Year 13) were given an undeserved fourth place. However, they fared much better in the topical second round,

where their arguments that that they would “rather be the heir than the spare” gained them second place. On the other side of the motion in their room, Thomas & Felix were also placed second, very close behind a team from Berkhamsted School. Mirko & J J were awarded third place, as were Padraig & Harrison. So we went to lunch in a very satisfactory position.

Padraig                                                          Harrison                                                         Mirko & J J  

Environmental topics often figure in these competitions, so the next motion “This House Supports developing nations ‘right to burn’ i.e. to continue using fossil fuels. Two TBSHS teams made up the ‘bottom half’ of the debate. Speaking for the motion, J J & Mirko gained another first place, but Harrison & Padraig, opposing, had to be content with fourth. Meanwhile, Evie & Emaelia’s progress continued with another second place and Felix & Thomas narrowly achieved first place.

 Emaelia.                                                            Evie                                                             Felix & Thomas

Once again, we had two teams contending for a place at Finals Day. Fortunately, the draw kept them apart as they tackled “This House Regrets the narrative that hardship builds character” The results of the last round are not divulged at the end of the debate, so an anxious wait for the final ‘league table’ ensued. When the placings were finally announced it was clear that both our leading teams had been victorious in their rooms, as Thomas & Felix finished top of the table, with Mirko & J J second out of the 56 teams present. Emaelia & Evie maintained their improvement with a win that took them to 15th place overall and Padraig & Harrison achieved a very respectable 27th place with a second in the last round.

Their coach, retired teacher Tony Fraser commented, “I’m always pleased when one of our teams reaches an international Finals Day, so to get a total of four pairs through is fantastic. All the students involved debated really well, making their arguments very clear, responding effectively to those of their opponents and making good use of the feedback offered by the adjudicators at the end of each debate. They should feel very pleased with what they have achieved. And I have no doubt that they will do the school proud when they take on debaters from as far away as Australia, Canada, Greece and Hong Kong”.

ICYD finalists                                                                                     Cambridge finalists

Headteacher, Dale Reeve, added, “This is another fantastic achievement for our student debaters. To get through to an International Finals’ Day, having been up against students from some of the most prestigious independent schools in the country, is an impressive feat. They can now test themselves against students from across the globe and we wish them the very best of luck. We have a proud history of debating and public speaking success at TBSHS, based on the great combination of commitment and hard work from the students and wonderful support from the staff. We are especially indebted to Mr Fraser for his unwavering enthusiasm and dedication, which undoubtedly helps our debaters to flourish.”