Dollar Academy wins Dewar debate prize
15 Jun 06
Keenly contested final in Scottish Parliament to Society's eighth schools competition
Pupils from Dollar Academy have won this year's Law Society of Scotland’s Donald Dewar Debating Tournament.
After the final, which took place in the debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday evening, Katie Trim and Tarni Duhre, both 15, out-argued three other teams in the hotly contested final, chaired by the Presiding Officer George Reid, as they debated "This house believes too many people attend university". They were presented with a trophy and £1,000 for their school’s debating society.
The judges, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, Irene McGrath, a teacher and leading debater herself, and Charles McGregor from Simpson & Marwick Solicitors, agreed that all four teams had given very strong and convincing performances, but were unanimous in declaring Dollar Academy the winning team for their powers of persuasion and imaginative arguments.
Felicity Loudon and Alasdair Forrest, both 17, from Hutchesons’ Grammar School in Glasgow were runners up. They were awarded £250 donated by the Glasgow Bar Association. Finalists Anna Forrest and Sarah Nash from Carnoustie High School, and Ewen Maclean and Sarah Sutherland from Earlston High School each received an engraved quaich to commemorate the occasion.
Pupils from schools across Scotland were allowed to use the members' seats as part of the audience, and contributed to a lively debate from the floor in the course of the proceedings.
Ruthven Gemmell, President of the Society, said: “This is the first time the event has been held at Holyrood and it is a tremendous opportunity for these young people to be able to stand in the debating chamber of their country’s parliament to debate a highly topical issue.
“All of the performances were animated and highly articulate and I’m delighted to congratulate not only the winners, but all of the finalists on their oratory skills.”
The competition, commemorating Donald Dewar, Scotland’s inaugural First Minister and a former solicitor, was launched to mark the 50th anniversary of the Law Society of Scotland in 1999 and has since become the biggest schools debating tournament in the country. This year 152 schools from across Scotland entered the opening heats.
The Law Society of Scotland will create a training DVD using footage from the event, which will be distributed to schools around the country to help encourage the art of debate.