On Friday 24th February, a group of pupils took part in the Frankly Speaking Debating competition at the US Embassy in Nine Elms. The competition was organised by Benjamin Franklin House, a London based museum. There were four debates in total which took place in the conference rooms inside the embassy. Isaac and Sulaimaan debated brilliantly against an array of schools from across the capital and were particularly strong in their second round debate which was ‘This house believes that there should be an age maximum for politicians.’
Whilst Ayah took on the challenging role of invigilating the semi-final competition, the rest of the group were given a fascinating tour of the building. We were particularly surprised to learn that the Embassy was filled with famous artwork not only depicting famous ambassadors, but also work by modern artists, watercolourists and school children. We also had the opportunity to look around the Embassy shop that was filled with imported necessities for American visitors.
After the tour, we took our seats to watch the grand final. Unfortunately our debate team didn’t quite make the final, but we still thoroughly enjoyed watching the other teams battle to establish their arguments for whether or not ‘arts and heritage should be protected in times of protest.’ Each pupil received a certificate for their excellent participation in the competition and we look forward to hopefully attending next year as well!