Salopians impress at Manchester Schools' Debating Competition

A team of Salopians recently made an impression at the prestigious Manchester Schools’ Debating Competition, showcasing both skill and spirit throughout an intense day of argument and analysis. 

The group achieved a remarkable feat by going undefeated in all four preliminary rounds, with the top team only narrowly missing out in the Gold Final to a team they had already defeated earlier in the day.  

Elsa L (M, V) and Matthew W (SH, LVI) delivered exceptional performances, with Elsa taking the top individual speaker award and Matthew securing third place overall. 

The full roster of Salopian debaters included Max W (SH, UVI), Lulu G (QEH, V), Callie D (MSH, III), James C (Ch, III), Alanood A (MSH, LVI), and Amber G (M, V), all of whom contributed to a strong Shrewsbury presence. Notably, James and Callie, participating in their very first tournament, won their final round—a fantastic achievement for a novice pair. 

Elsa said: “It was brilliant to end this year's worth of competitions on such a successful note!  

“Manchester Schools’ involved 4 rounds of rigorous debate with the final on the same day. The motions given to us ranged from the issue of linguistic globalisation to the Hunger Games (my favourite), and our competitors were skilled and very intimidating.

“Matthew and I won all 4 rounds, and we placed 3rd and 1st on the individual speaker ranking, respectively. Shrewsbury had originally entered 3 teams, but an extra enthusiastic pair made us the school with the most teams in the competition. Everyone involved learnt plenty from the experience; a special shout-out to our novice team of James and Callie, who came 1st in their final round despite it being their first tournament.  

“Thanks also for Max, Alanood, Amber and Lulu for being such committed members of the team. We are all very grateful for Mr Bandy for helping us enter the competition in the first place, as well as supporting us on the day from 8AM to 8PM.”