The Burgate Sixth Form debating team claimed victory on Friday, March 10 after winning two rounds of tough debating on real-world issues at the House of Lords.  

The Burgate School have a long association with the acclaimed Debating Matters Competition which last December turned 20-years-old. Previously the school has enjoyed huge success particularly as national finalists and as champions in the Solent competition but last Friday the sixth form team took the school even further as they battled against opposing teams in Westminster.  

In the first debate, "Skills Gap: Too many people are going to university," arguing ‘for,’ Coco Rose Puren and Tom Florence, who were supported by Bill Wadsworth, skillfully beat the challenging team from Richmond Upon Thames College and secured Burgate’s place in the final debate, "Tech companies should act to stop online misinformation."

Salisbury Journal:

Here the Burgate team of Ned Woodley and Bill Golding with support from Ivan Godfree, clinched the championship by beating Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School. 

The competition focuses on debaters’ knowledge and the clarity of their arguments and encourages students to deep-dive into some of the biggest issues facing society and see beyond media headlines.  

Questions and challenge were put to the students by judges including, Tom Bewick, Chief Executive of the Federation of Awarding Bodies; Liberal Democrat peer, Lord Fox; Dervla Murphy, a postgraduate student at University of Kent; Baroness Bull CBE; writer, broadcaster, and presenter, Timandra Harkness, and Lord Sewell of Sanderstead.  

The judging panel also awarded Burgate student, Tom Florence the further accolade of ‘best individual debater’ and Coco Rose Puren was given an honourable mention for clarity in her responses to questions.  

Teachers, Evan Bailey, Simon Mallace-Goulbourne and Suzannah Dennis accompanied the students and Evan Bailey who has led the Debating Team for many years said, “The experience of the students interacting with Barons, Baronesses, Lords and other individuals at the top of their fields was incredible, they treated the students as adults and tried to push them to their limits to add to the conversation on topics to which there are no easy solutions. 

"This was an amazing experience for staff and students which they will always treasure.  We are all so incredibly grateful to Baroness Fox and her team. The best day of my thirty-year teaching career with no doubt. "

Headteacher David Pover said, “I am pleased as punch and so proud. What a truly great achievement by #TeamBurgate. We had total faith in their ability to win and were delighted that the judges realised that too.”