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Ciall "Merks" It Up - Debating FINAL PTR Pg2
- Thread starter ciallkennett
- Start date
ciallkennett
Strata Poster
We got the motion for the semi-final today.
Like last year, it will be a 3-way (I know, laugh it guys...
) with all 3 of the teams who went through in the first going head-to-head (which pleases me and Nicky will be delighted to know about 
) with only one team going through to the final at the House of Commons. That team will face the winner of the Milton Keynes North competition.
So, the motion is:
"The House of Lords should be: Scrapped, Appointed or Elected"
Me and Brent are proposing that the House of Lords should be APPOINTED.
This is just what me and Brent wanted - a political debate. However, it is to do with the HoL, to which even the most politically minded of students like me and Brent are don't even know too much about it.
The semi-final takes place next Friday 26th November
Like last year, it will be a 3-way (I know, laugh it guys...
) with all 3 of the teams who went through in the first going head-to-head (which pleases me and Nicky will be delighted to know about ) with only one team going through to the final at the House of Commons. That team will face the winner of the Milton Keynes North competition.So, the motion is:
"The House of Lords should be: Scrapped, Appointed or Elected"
Me and Brent are proposing that the House of Lords should be APPOINTED.
This is just what me and Brent wanted - a political debate. However, it is to do with the HoL, to which even the most politically minded of students like me and Brent are don't even know too much about it.
The semi-final takes place next Friday 26th November
ciallkennett
Strata Poster
Friday was MK Semi-Final day:
Before the debate on Friday, we were very unprepared, so much so, I feared we would lose badly. Brent (my debating partner) wasn't himself, and wasn't in the mindset for debating. I had to change that, and I went around his after school for massive preparation.
Brent's mum picked us up and took us to MK Academy where the semi-final was being held, and we saw the deliciously sexy Abi from last time again, which pepped up Brent a lot. The rest of the team was there already, and we headed up to the room it was being held. There were a few people up there already, and I grabbed some refreshments and talked about politics in a nice casual way.
Soon enough, everyone was ready, and the Milton Keynes South semi-final was up first. The motion was:
House of Lords reform: Elected, Appointed, Scrapped.
We were of course appointed, which is essentially what the HoL is already. I was ready, and as I was speaking 2nd for us, I had to wait for 5 other speakers before it was my turn. This didn’t mean I couldn't interject. I was the first to do so, and I did it probably more so than any other person (me and Brent interjected so many times, perhaps too much...) and got me quite settled in to the debate. Brent was a tad pissed off when Abi couldn’t remember his name when coming back on an interjection Bless him.
Soon enough, Brent spoke, and he did well. He was confident as always, said his points VERY well and spoke to the whole audience. The only “bad” thing was that he finished with 45 seconds to spare – vital seconds gone. Nonetheless, I was feeling more confident we had a good chance. Couple this with the team that was doing elected was very nervous, and I had it in my mind that it was between us and the team who was doing scrapped, who happened to be the team with the delicious Abi.
It was my turn, and I got up and spoke my points. I was VERY confident, didn’t stumble at all, handled interjections well (I made my 2 points and put off interjections until after my second point). This meant that I could hear the final minute and sum up then. It worked, and I was very happy with my performance – in the year and a half I have been debating, it was my best performance yet. I had it in my mind that even if we didn’t go through, I was more than happy at how we did.
It was over, and feedback was had from the 3 judges, one of whom was a Lord. This took longer than normal due to there being 6 people and 3 teams rather than 4 with 2 teams. The feedback I got was (without blowing my own trumpet) the best out of all 6 people – they commented on my confidence, the fact I was the only one who came across as believing in my argument, my timing being immaculate, my handing and making of interjections and generally me being the best speaker xD I was shocked and pleased.
It was over, and we had to wait until after the MK North semi-final to find out our results. Before that, we had a break, so I went to speak to all the other speakers. Abi came over to me (^_^) and we talked for ages about the debate – she remembered my name It was good times.
We settled down for MK North who were debating over whether we should adopt GMT+1 permanently – both (yes, they only had 2 ) teams VERY strong, and I couldn’t have called it. They gave feedback and went off again to deliberate. Another break was had where I went over and congratulate both teams.
Soon enough, the judges were back and all results were to be announced. I wasn’t nervous, I was more so still pleased with how I did. But then they said it, and my whole emotional train just crashed...
WE WON AND WE'RE GOING THROUGH TO THE FINAL AT THE HOUSE OF COMMONS!
I was shocked, surprised, ECSTATIC! I felt bad as it meant Abi wasn’t going (she couldn’t make it even if they’d won anyway), but this meant I was the only student who would be at all 3 finals so far – audience member for the first, as part of our research team last year (and first and ONLY person to make a point from the floor in the final) to now speaking!
It’s fair to say I’m quite excited. We haven’t had the motion yet, but luckily we got Stantonbury school, who I think we have a good enough chance of beating. The debate will be on Wednesday 8th December at the House of Commons. Wish me luck
Before the debate on Friday, we were very unprepared, so much so, I feared we would lose badly. Brent (my debating partner) wasn't himself, and wasn't in the mindset for debating. I had to change that, and I went around his after school for massive preparation.
Brent's mum picked us up and took us to MK Academy where the semi-final was being held, and we saw the deliciously sexy Abi from last time again, which pepped up Brent a lot. The rest of the team was there already, and we headed up to the room it was being held. There were a few people up there already, and I grabbed some refreshments and talked about politics in a nice casual way.
Soon enough, everyone was ready, and the Milton Keynes South semi-final was up first. The motion was:
House of Lords reform: Elected, Appointed, Scrapped.
We were of course appointed, which is essentially what the HoL is already. I was ready, and as I was speaking 2nd for us, I had to wait for 5 other speakers before it was my turn. This didn’t mean I couldn't interject. I was the first to do so, and I did it probably more so than any other person (me and Brent interjected so many times, perhaps too much...) and got me quite settled in to the debate. Brent was a tad pissed off when Abi couldn’t remember his name when coming back on an interjection
Bless him.Soon enough, Brent spoke, and he did well. He was confident as always, said his points VERY well and spoke to the whole audience. The only “bad” thing was that he finished with 45 seconds to spare – vital seconds gone. Nonetheless, I was feeling more confident we had a good chance. Couple this with the team that was doing elected was very nervous, and I had it in my mind that it was between us and the team who was doing scrapped, who happened to be the team with the delicious Abi.
It was my turn, and I got up and spoke my points. I was VERY confident, didn’t stumble at all, handled interjections well (I made my 2 points and put off interjections until after my second point). This meant that I could hear the final minute and sum up then. It worked, and I was very happy with my performance – in the year and a half I have been debating, it was my best performance yet. I had it in my mind that even if we didn’t go through, I was more than happy at how we did.
It was over, and feedback was had from the 3 judges, one of whom was a Lord. This took longer than normal due to there being 6 people and 3 teams rather than 4 with 2 teams. The feedback I got was (without blowing my own trumpet) the best out of all 6 people – they commented on my confidence, the fact I was the only one who came across as believing in my argument, my timing being immaculate, my handing and making of interjections and generally me being the best speaker xD I was shocked and pleased.
It was over, and we had to wait until after the MK North semi-final to find out our results. Before that, we had a break, so I went to speak to all the other speakers. Abi came over to me (^_^) and we talked for ages about the debate – she remembered my name
It was good times.We settled down for MK North who were debating over whether we should adopt GMT+1 permanently – both (yes, they only had 2 ) teams VERY strong, and I couldn’t have called it. They gave feedback and went off again to deliberate. Another break was had where I went over and congratulate both teams.
Soon enough, the judges were back and all results were to be announced. I wasn’t nervous, I was more so still pleased with how I did. But then they said it, and my whole emotional train just crashed...
WE WON AND WE'RE GOING THROUGH TO THE FINAL AT THE HOUSE OF COMMONS!
I was shocked, surprised, ECSTATIC! I felt bad as it meant Abi wasn’t going (she couldn’t make it even if they’d won anyway), but this meant I was the only student who would be at all 3 finals so far – audience member for the first, as part of our research team last year (and first and ONLY person to make a point from the floor in the final) to now speaking!
It’s fair to say I’m quite excited. We haven’t had the motion yet, but luckily we got Stantonbury school, who I think we have a good enough chance of beating. The debate will be on Wednesday 8th December at the House of Commons. Wish me luck
ciallkennett
Strata Poster
I received the motion for the final today:
This House believes that the Euro currency is doomed to fail
Our school is proposing while the other school is opposing.
Now, to get time off work...
This House believes that the Euro currency is doomed to fail
Our school is proposing while the other school is opposing.
Now, to get time off work...
ciallkennett
Strata Poster
Quadruple post?! Blimey. Anyway, the final was on Wednesday night and I've finally been able to write up about it.
Due to circumstances beyond my control, I didn't actually have my debate prepared until we were on the coach heading down to London xD
I was still needing to write out all of my points, so I sat on the coach for 3/4s of the way down writing them onto my cards, memorising them and generally not talking much. Throughout the whole day, I felt like I had no emotion, and I was neither nervous nor excited one bit.
After an hour and a half or so, we arrived in Westminster. We had to avoid most of Westminster as it was being set up ready for the student demonstrations the next day, but when we got off the coach, I seemingly led the whole group to what I hope will one day be my place of work - the Houses of Parliament.
We entered, got security checked and we all congregated before taking a loo break - I went for a slash (I love to hate that word). We had a bit of time to hang around, so why not grab a picture?
Lulz at Sam on the far left.
Like the previous 2 finals, we would be heading to Room 8 which is usually used to discuss transport issues and laws. So I knew exactly where we were going, and the group all followed up. Still no nerves, still no excitement.
We entered the room, and I took my seat along with Brent at the big table in the middle, sitting opposite the other finalists with our MP Iain Stewart, MK North MP Mark Lancaster and Iain's aide Jimny. He explained the rules and also that he and Mark were due to vote, so if a bell sounded, they would have to depart but for us to continue. We were also introduced to the three judges whom had been at every round.
And that was it. We were off.
To remind you of the motion, it was: "This house believes that the Euro is doomed to fail". Me and Brent were proposing and Stantonbury (Susannah and Shannon) were opposing. We had the easier argument, so they already had a slight advantage in terms of judges favouring them. But I was confident in my argument.
Brent was up first, and this was indeed the first time I had heard his argument spoken at all. I was confident he would do well, and my goodness, he blew me away. His best of the whole competition, and he explained really complex ideas very well. I was very pleased.
Stantonbury were up next, and Shannon was up...but read almost all of her argument from a sheet :/ It was BRILLIANT in terms of content, but delivery was a failure to to the reading from the sheet :/ I made a few interventions, and once again, I was still not nervous.
I was then up. I got up, spoke what I needed to say and took quite a few interventions, but had my timing under control and finished well within time. I kept getting my words in a twist, but nobody picked up on it. I also, now rather legendarily, called the old German currency the "Douche-mark" rather than the Deutsch-mark xD I knew I'd gotten it wrong at the time, but I didn't realise that a lot of people were struggling not to laugh when I said it Luckily, when it came to the judges feedback, none of them said anything about it - more on that later.
Suzi was up last, and last time she spoke VERY fast and seemingly got more excited and faster as she went on. This time, she was more controlled, and was a lot more confident and spoke to the crowd more. Once again, interventions were made by me and Brent (laughably, we both got up at the same time to make a point 3 times during her speech - many laughs were had by us, the backbenchers and the opposition).
That was it. It was over.
Feedback from the judges was had, and it seemed to favour me and Brent more so than Stantonbury, but that gave me no further confidence. Once again, all my feedback was overwhelmingly good, and I was once again told I was the best speaker with the clearest arguments, most confident and most easy to understand. I was disappointed that I was literally the only speaker who didn't get a negative comment, not even a slight one :/ I like getting constructive feedback, so I was a bit annoyed, but pleased at the vibe the judges were giving to me and Brent.
Then the judges went to deliberate and come up with the final scores, and ultimately, the winner.
During this time, I had people come up to me and ask about my currency-blunder, and also nabbed a few pictures
Me and my bessie girl friend Lucy:
It wasn't far too long that the judges were back. Speeches from Iain Stewart and one of the judges were had, before the moment we had all been waiting for (except me, to be honest) - the winner.
They said it was close, with only a few points between it, before announcing that...
Shenley Brook End School were the Milton Keynes Inter-School Debating champions 2010!
I calmly shook Brent's hand and all finalists were invited to collect their plaques for being in the final and we all collect certificates, before Brent and I were handed the big shield which would have our school name engraved on for the 2nd time
That was actually the only time I got to touch the shield :/ Brent took it around and held it until it had to be taken away, but I didn't mind.
We then, like previous years, went to the viewing gallery in the House of Commons to see politics in action. This year it was about the events of the next day, so they were discussing the very important issue of the student tuition fees vote. I was sitting there and very loudly shouting expletives at the Tory MPs who were spouting hot air, but surprisingly I was kept in and nobody seemed to mind
We then had to leave to catch the coach back. We all headed off to the place we were dropped off, and I talked to Suzi on the way about loads of stuff. The coach was going to be about 15 mins late, so we continued chatting She was lovely, sweet and we had similar views and opinions
Coach arrived, and I sat next to Lucy this time, with Brent and his mate in front of us. We stopped off for food at the same place as last year, and I had been determined to have a KFC meal all day, so found a KFC. I was so hungry, and I spent far too much, but my goodness I had a joygasm eating it all:
We went back to the coach, and sat back down. This was the beginning of the best part of the day
Me and Lucy noted that Brent was speaking very flirtatiously with the 3 people in front of him - they were Suzi, Shannon and her friend, April. We kept telling him not to flirt and he claimed he wasn't (I knew he wasn't), but he said I should talk to them as they were funny...and I did.
It was great! We had a laugh all the way back to MK, talking about accents, sex...anything and everything Brent gave my number to April for some reason without my permission, and she begun texting me. She said her friends call her the "devirginator" as everyone she has slept with was a virgin he was lovely though, and I texted back a lot. The journey back was great, and Lucy fell asleep on me, so we snuggled up a bit.
We arrived back, and one of the judges was from the MK News and wanted to speak to me and Brent for his report, so he did. He was such lovely guy, quite young, a tad naive, but so lovely
Soon enough, my guardian arrived and I headed home. April was still texting, and me and her text each other for hours after I got back
It was a "meh" day even though I had achieved the biggest, most proudest achievement in my life, but the coach journey back was simply amazing
Best of all, me and this girl April are getting on VERY well
Due to circumstances beyond my control, I didn't actually have my debate prepared until we were on the coach heading down to London xD
I was still needing to write out all of my points, so I sat on the coach for 3/4s of the way down writing them onto my cards, memorising them and generally not talking much. Throughout the whole day, I felt like I had no emotion, and I was neither nervous nor excited one bit.
After an hour and a half or so, we arrived in Westminster. We had to avoid most of Westminster as it was being set up ready for the student demonstrations the next day, but when we got off the coach, I seemingly led the whole group to what I hope will one day be my place of work - the Houses of Parliament.
We entered, got security checked and we all congregated before taking a loo break - I went for a slash (I love to hate that word). We had a bit of time to hang around, so why not grab a picture?
Lulz at Sam on the far left.
Like the previous 2 finals, we would be heading to Room 8 which is usually used to discuss transport issues and laws. So I knew exactly where we were going, and the group all followed up. Still no nerves, still no excitement.
We entered the room, and I took my seat along with Brent at the big table in the middle, sitting opposite the other finalists with our MP Iain Stewart, MK North MP Mark Lancaster and Iain's aide Jimny. He explained the rules and also that he and Mark were due to vote, so if a bell sounded, they would have to depart but for us to continue. We were also introduced to the three judges whom had been at every round.
And that was it. We were off.
To remind you of the motion, it was: "This house believes that the Euro is doomed to fail". Me and Brent were proposing and Stantonbury (Susannah and Shannon) were opposing. We had the easier argument, so they already had a slight advantage in terms of judges favouring them. But I was confident in my argument.
Brent was up first, and this was indeed the first time I had heard his argument spoken at all. I was confident he would do well, and my goodness, he blew me away. His best of the whole competition, and he explained really complex ideas very well. I was very pleased.
Stantonbury were up next, and Shannon was up...but read almost all of her argument from a sheet :/ It was BRILLIANT in terms of content, but delivery was a failure to to the reading from the sheet :/ I made a few interventions, and once again, I was still not nervous.
I was then up. I got up, spoke what I needed to say and took quite a few interventions, but had my timing under control and finished well within time. I kept getting my words in a twist, but nobody picked up on it. I also, now rather legendarily, called the old German currency the "Douche-mark" rather than the Deutsch-mark xD I knew I'd gotten it wrong at the time, but I didn't realise that a lot of people were struggling not to laugh when I said it
Luckily, when it came to the judges feedback, none of them said anything about it - more on that later.Suzi was up last, and last time she spoke VERY fast and seemingly got more excited and faster as she went on. This time, she was more controlled, and was a lot more confident and spoke to the crowd more. Once again, interventions were made by me and Brent (laughably, we both got up at the same time to make a point 3 times during her speech - many laughs were had by us, the backbenchers and the opposition
).That was it. It was over.
Feedback from the judges was had, and it seemed to favour me and Brent more so than Stantonbury, but that gave me no further confidence. Once again, all my feedback was overwhelmingly good, and I was once again told I was the best speaker with the clearest arguments, most confident and most easy to understand. I was disappointed that I was literally the only speaker who didn't get a negative comment, not even a slight one :/ I like getting constructive feedback, so I was a bit annoyed, but pleased at the vibe the judges were giving to me and Brent.
Then the judges went to deliberate and come up with the final scores, and ultimately, the winner.
During this time, I had people come up to me and ask about my currency-blunder, and also nabbed a few pictures
Me and my bessie girl friend Lucy:
It wasn't far too long that the judges were back. Speeches from Iain Stewart and one of the judges were had, before the moment we had all been waiting for (except me, to be honest) - the winner.
They said it was close, with only a few points between it, before announcing that...
Shenley Brook End School were the Milton Keynes Inter-School Debating champions 2010!
I calmly shook Brent's hand and all finalists were invited to collect their plaques for being in the final and we all collect certificates, before Brent and I were handed the big shield which would have our school name engraved on for the 2nd time
That was actually the only time I got to touch the shield :/ Brent took it around and held it until it had to be taken away, but I didn't mind.
We then, like previous years, went to the viewing gallery in the House of Commons to see politics in action. This year it was about the events of the next day, so they were discussing the very important issue of the student tuition fees vote. I was sitting there and very loudly shouting expletives at the Tory MPs who were spouting hot air, but surprisingly I was kept in and nobody seemed to mind
We then had to leave to catch the coach back. We all headed off to the place we were dropped off, and I talked to Suzi on the way about loads of stuff. The coach was going to be about 15 mins late, so we continued chatting
She was lovely, sweet and we had similar views and opinions Coach arrived, and I sat next to Lucy this time, with Brent and his mate in front of us. We stopped off for food at the same place as last year, and I had been determined to have a KFC meal all day, so found a KFC. I was so hungry, and I spent far too much, but my goodness I had a joygasm eating it all:
We went back to the coach, and sat back down. This was the beginning of the best part of the day
Me and Lucy noted that Brent was speaking very flirtatiously with the 3 people in front of him - they were Suzi, Shannon and her friend, April. We kept telling him not to flirt and he claimed he wasn't (I knew he wasn't
), but he said I should talk to them as they were funny...and I did.It was great! We had a laugh all the way back to MK, talking about accents, sex...anything and everything
Brent gave my number to April for some reason without my permission, and she begun texting me. She said her friends call her the "devirginator" as everyone she has slept with was a virgin he was lovely though, and I texted back a lot. The journey back was great, and Lucy fell asleep on me, so we snuggled up a bit.We arrived back, and one of the judges was from the MK News and wanted to speak to me and Brent for his report, so he did. He was such lovely guy, quite young, a tad naive, but so lovely
Soon enough, my guardian arrived and I headed home. April was still texting, and me and her text each other for hours after I got back
It was a "meh" day even though I had achieved the biggest, most proudest achievement in my life, but the coach journey back was simply amazing
Best of all, me and this girl April are getting on VERY well
ciallkennett
Strata Poster
Cheers David I know, I only realised when looking through the pictures earlier xD Oh well
I know, I only realised when looking through the pictures earlier xD Oh well 