No debate that Alex and James deserve a place at Oxford Schools Finals Day!
Tonbridge’s Alex Chan (PH4) and James Tam (MH4) have made it through to Finals Day in the Oxford Schools’ debate competition.
The pair put in a tremendous performance and finished in first place in the South East of England Regional Round, which took place on Monday 30 January.
A total of 48 teams took part in the regional contest, with only six of these earning a place at Finals Day.
Run by the Oxford Union, Oxford Schools’ is the largest British Parliamentary school-level debate competition in the world, and the largest in the UK, aimed at students aged between 14 and 18.
Alex and James, will be heading to Oxford on Saturday 11 March to take part in the final: this is held at the historic Oxford Union, one of the most prestigious debating societies in the world. Finals Day is an all-day event consisting of four rounds of short-prep debates, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and a grand final.
The English Department’s Sarah Pinto del Rio, who runs the Debating Society at Tonbridge, said: “Well done to Alex and James on their fine achievement. This is the most competitive year we’ve seen for Oxford Schools, with more than 750 teams applying from UK and Ireland, and a significant number from around the world, all vying for just 100 spaces on Finals Day.”
The other Tonbridge teams who took part in the South East of England Regional Round were Max Teh (HS3) and Ethan Glucina (PS3); Rhys Crosby (MH4) and Abraham Chan (MH4); and Jean Van der Spuy (FH4) and Ruhaan Chopra (FH5). Mrs Pinto del Rio added: “For all of these boys, it was their very first national competition. They all said they enjoyed it and learned a lot.”
The Oxford Schools’ debate competition offers students an opportunity to gain confidence in public speaking, and to develop skills in thoughtful argumentation and analytical problem solving.
* Alex and James have also made it to the Finals of the Cambridge Union Schools Debating Competition 2022-23, one of the most prestigious school debating competitions in the world.
The School’s Third Year team, featuring Max and Ethan, also performed superbly in Cambridge Schools and finished 9th, just one place away from the break-level (eight teams went through).
