Stamford Schools 6th Form Debating Team Shines in ESU Mace Regional Finals: A Close Call for National Finals

The Stamford 6^th form debating team came very close to reaching the national finals of the English-Speaking Union Schools’ Debating Mace, coming second only to Oundle in the East Midlands Regional Finals at King’s School, Grantham last week. The team debated superbly, after just a few days of intense preparation and research post Year 13 mock exams for a very topical and controversial motion: ‘This House would legalise physician-assisted euthanasia’.

There were six schools competing for one place in the national finals: Stamford, Oundle, Repton, King’s Grantham, St Mary’s Catholic School in Chesterfield and Nottingham High School, with Stamford in the final debate of the evening against Oundle. The Stamford team, Laith, Milo and Sophie, (with Alex as reserve) rose strongly to the occasion: Laith, who is applying for medicine at university, gave a careful and compassionate definition of the motion, outlining our rigorous criteria for physician-assisted euthanasia and emphasising the need for patient autonomy, responding effectively to several points of information from the opposition; Milo handled rebuttal well, while also outlining the benefits of PAE for society as a whole and Sophie responded to the opposition’s continued focus on palliative care and coercion, re-focusing the debate with an excellent summary speech.

Sophie commented: "I thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the ESU Mace Competition this year for the final time in my Stamford career. Not only were the actual debates engaging and challenging, but I always love the sense of camaraderie in our preparation meetings. Although we narrowly missed out on a place in the finals, it is always so rewarding to be able to communicate our ideas and meet like-minded students from across the region. Thank you to Mrs Leetch and Mrs Sharman for supporting us, whether with ideas, travel or encouragement, and I would really encourage anyone in the lower years to consider taking part in the future."