Year 12 students attend annual ‘les joutes oratoires lycéennes’ debating competition
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News - Feb 29
Recently, two of our Year 12 linguists attended the annual debating competition ‘les joutes oratoires Lycéennes’ organised by Institut Français at Marlborough College in Wiltshire. It was a fantastic event which encouraged students to research real issues and engage in debating, boosting their fluency and their self-confidence.
They debated against other teams from five other schools in the West of England. The titles of the three motions were:
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Quand on fait le bilan, Napoléon Bonaparte reste un leader à admirer (when we assess his achievements, Napoleon Bonaparte remains a leader who we should admire)
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L’installation des cameras de surveillance dans les salles de classes est une bonne idée (installing video surveillance cameras in classrooms is a good idea)
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L’intelligence artificielle représente la plus grande menace à l’humanité (artificial intelligence is the biggest threat to humanity)
Both Alice and Evelyn performed so well in these three motions that they went through to the semi-final. To contend for a place in the national final in London, they then had to debate on the motion: Le bonheur est plus important que le succès (happiness is more important than success).
Tom Kiggell, the judge from the Modern Foreign Languages Department of Marlborough College, praised Alice and Evelyn for their philosophical flair and their great language skills. They were very articulate. After a lively final debate against two girls from Cheltenham Ladies College, Alice and Evelyn lost by just one point.
They really enjoyed the thrill and the experience; it was very rewarding. Mrs Armour is looking forward to coming back with new students next year.
