Students from Eastbury Comprehensive School in Barking celebrated a victorious win at the House of Lords last week whilst competing in the 'Artemis Urban Debate League Final'.

It was a hard-fought debate which saw ambitious Eastbury Comprehensive students put their case forward for diplomacy as the weapon to fight and resolve terrorism.  The final debate against Bridge Academy, Hackney saw three speakers from each team give powerful and thought provoking arguments before answering questions from the audience.    

Over 2000 students from 115 schools competed for a place in the final and it is the first time that Eastbury has taken part in the Debate Mate’s programme, after forming the club at the beginning of this year.  Debate Mate run after school clubs which use debating to develop communication, interpersonal skills and to build self-esteem.  The Debate Mate club at Eastbury has been organised by Daniel Plant and the Humanities department in collaboration with University College London.  Undergraduates Bob Sibley and Nick Knudsen have mentored students over many hours after school throughout the year.

David Dickson, Head teacher said “I am absolutely delighted with this well-deserved and ground breaking victory.   I am very proud of all the students involved in the Debate Mate Club. The hard work of staff, families and students working together is making sure our ambition of becoming one of the best schools in the country is fast becoming a reality”

The winners, Rhianna, Lukene, Sandra, Usman, Nuzhaat and Zeyana were able to enjoy a reception and prize-giving in The House of Lords River Room after this highly prestigious event.

Zeyanasaid “Being in the final was a really great, exciting experience and we really didn’t expect to win.  I was a disorganised speaker before joining the Debate club and now I speak more confidently”.  Nuzhaat added, ”Being part of the Debate Mate programme has given me more confidence in public speaking.  I know how to use persuasive language which ties in with my English lessons too.  It has also increased my spontaneous thinking. 

The success of Eastbury Comprehensive in their very first year of Debate Mate, clearly demonstrates the ability for debating to engage, excite and equip young people with key skills that are so often missing in state sector education. Everybody at Debate Mate would like to congratulate Eastbury on their achievement and we look forward to seeing them defending their title next year.” Cerith Evans, Debate Mate

“A fantastic achievement, I and my colleague Governors are extremely proud”  Roy Patient, Chair of Governors

Councillor Rocky Gill, Cabinet Member for Education and Finance said: “I would like to congratulate all of the students that took part in the competition. This is a fantastic achievement by the debating team. The Debate Mate challenge is a tough competition to win and having come first from 115 schools across the country the students showed outstanding debating skills as well as the ability to work well as a team”. 

Original link to House of Lords - Parliament website

Debatemate link