2022 School Magazine

DEBATING

BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2022 | 107

D ebating is an extremely popular co-curricular choice at Girls Grammar, offering girls an opportunity to develop their problem solving, critical thinking, and public speaking skills. For both of us, Debating has been one of the most character-building, rewarding experiences of our secondary school careers. But beyond the benefits and undoubted joys of the short prep-room, Debating also offers an incredible opportunity to interact with students from other schools and form long-term friendships where we share the same passion for current affairs, public speaking, and constructive discourse. Girls Grammar offers a wide variety of Debating opportunities in the program with more than 50 teams from Year 7 through to Senior A competing this year. Anyone who wishes to debate at Girls Grammar will be able to find a team of like-minded girls in the Queensland Debating Union (QDU) competition, the Brisbane Girls Debating Association (BGDA), and Brisbane Girls Junior Debating (BGJD) competitions. Excitingly, this year we saw more than 100 Year 7 girls take up the Debating challenge across the year.

Additionally, from Year 10 onwards, every student was able to participate in the Queensland State Team Trials, which provided an excellent opportunity to gain invaluable feedback from experienced adjudicators and develop as an individual debater. This year was a particularly special year for BGGS Debating, demonstrated by our remarkable results. In the BGDA competition, our Senior A team were placed second overall after a gruelling six-month competition, while in the QDU competition, 14 of our 19 teams reached the Finals Series, with our 10.1 and 12.1 teams progressing to the Grand Finals of their respective divisions. The Year 10 girls, coached by past Queensland Schools Captain, Isabel Nolan (2017), went on to win the Championship. We feel that we can leave happily, knowing the future of Grammar Debating is well and truly secured. Our coordinator, Ms Byrne, remains a constant source of support and encouragement for our debaters at every Year level throughout the six competitions held across all four terms and we thank her for her dedication to Debating at Girls Grammar. Johanna Conomos (12W) and Scarlett McLellan (12H)