George S and Louis B stepped up to the challenge of team captains and soon selected their teams for the evening. George was supported by Barnaby D and Edward B by Louis, Bryan S and Antoine C. It was good to see confident volunteers who had lots of good arguments. Both teams were given twenty minutes to prepare before the debate.

First, George stepped up as first speaker for the proposition, with a short persuasive debate that included how flying affects health: death is always a good encouragement to win your argument! Then Louis spoke with eloquence, hints of confidence and humour. 

When Barnaby debated, he stated that flights ruined cultures as quiet places became overrun by tourists, however Brian quickly rebutted with the enrichment and enlightenment of embracing other cultures other than your own.

'Long distance flights kill you' was Edward’s first remark when he stood up. In fact, he later said that it increased the risk of blood clots and heart failures when you fly on a plane, but why worry about that when 1 out of 10 people already have these issues? was the rebuttal. 

Antoine then finished the debate with a short concise description of how planes are a much better solution than cruise ships which are a popular holiday alternative to flying. He argued with statistics about carbon emissions, which are indeed not very environmentally friendly.

After the speakers, many interesting questions arose about the debate itself from the audience and the teams replied with good consideration. As head judge, Aditya gave fair and honest reviews of the debaters' arguments and presentations, without waffling. Verbal confidence and providing debates of greater substance were the biggest things to work on for next week, however first-time speakers should just have a go.

Overall, a debate to ponder on as the motion did not carry as the opposition won. Each side had merit but flying is not unpopular enough yet to deny people their holidays!

Next week’s motion: ‘This house believes that foreign ownership of English football teams should be banned.’

Please enjoy discussing this motion at home and remember to argue both sides with convincing and persuasive evidence.

Mrs Bailey
Debating Commoner