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Debate Mate Update: we am so proud to announce HGAED debaters are 11th of 86 schools in the national Debate Mate Urban Debate League, and 9th of all 58 schools in London.

The Debate Mate mentor have been so impressed with our students and wrote a very encouraging email congratulating and praising our students. "It's an incredible achievement for them and a testament to their hard work and dedication," they wrote. "An extremely well-deserved placing! I've been telling every single person who will listen about what a pleasure it is to teach your students and how I'm so happy for them getting their passion for debating recognised."

Great work everyone!

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Our after-school Debate Mate club has got off to a flying start this academic year with a large number of students getting involved.

Debate Mate aims to empower our students through the teaching of skills related to debate. We have two inspirational university students who act as our peer mentors in the club, leading the sessions and providing advice. Our current members have big boots to fill as some of our previous teams managed to win The Urban Debate League, as they were the highest scoring secondary school team across the nation.

Through the sessions, students work on the rules and format of debates and participate in competitions against other schools. These sessions and competitions encourage students to work on skills such as teamwork and public speaking but also encourages them to further develop personal skills such as confidence and resilience.

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First competition

Recently, our current team competed in their first competition of the year, travelling to Sydenham School to compete against five other local schools for the first round of the Urban Debate League. The motions were challenging and topical:

• "This house would make Maths compulsory up to the age of 18"
• "This house believes the monarchy does more harm than good"

Our students rose to the challenge and performed extremely well (especially considering this was the first time debating at a competition for some of them!) winning five out of six of the debates they took part in. A big well done to all students involved and thank you to Ms Morris and Mr Brown for their support on the trip.

The team is supported by Ms Halnan, Ms Morris and Mr Pooley from the English department. All of us have been so impressed by the inspiring attitude the girls take when grappling with some very tricky concepts. What has been most inspiring though is the supportive environment they have created within the club – it is a real privilege to be able to watch the students give one another feedback, support and create such a welcoming and friendly atmosphere within the club.

So a big thank you to all of the students involved for making it the success it has become and we encourage anyone who is interested in the club to come along – it is never too late to join!

Ms Halnan