On Saturday 11th March, Nicola Medicoff and Zarah Drummond, both in Year 11, represented the school at the national finals of the Oxford Schools Debating competition, the largest British Parliamentary debating competition in the UK.

Around 700 schools take part in the regional rounds, of which just 100 qualify for the final. It was a great achievement to get to finals day and a privilege to debate in the rooms around the Oxford Union. The girls held their own in a very strong field that included members of the English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh debating teams, as well as representatives from Canada, Slovenia and Hungary. They debated four motions during the course of the day, including ‘This house would criminalise the payment of ransoms’ and ‘This house believes that it is legitimate for states to refuse the admission of refugees who oppose said state’s core values.’ It was an excellent finale to the debating season.