The Great Debate Schools Programme includes public debates,
discussion-based workshops and courses, film workshops
and debating workshops on a variety of themes from
development, sustainability and environment to free speech
and theories of human nature.
Sustainability and Environment series has been
highly successful, running since 2003 with support of
ESRC, Newcastle University, Northumbria University and
Newcastle Local Agenda 21. The latest offshoot of this series,
thegreatnortherndebate, has been recognised by the
United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies as a Regional Centre of
Expertise in Education for Sustainable Development project.
We also organise debating workshops for schools, introducing students
of all ages to different approaches and formats for debates.
There is so much to gain from debating, not least skills in doing
independent research, public speaking, presentation, and of
course formulating and sustaining an argument. The
aim is to encourage young people to engage in serious discussion of
contemporary issues. Thinking for themselves and thinking on their feet
develops the confidence and skills required to make
informed judgements about scientific and social issues, taking participants
well beyond the subject matter of the debates.
Our programme focuses on key skills in four primary areas:
Communication - speaking, listening, reading and writing skills;
Information Communication Technology - finding, developing and presenting information;
Working with others - team work supports development of interpersonal skills
through working cooperatively with others to achieve shared objectives;
Improving own learning and performance - through target-setting, planning,
learning, communicating own needs and accepting constructive feedback;
We offer a range of options, from one-off
workshops to ongoing support for developing debating societies in schools.
Our expert team can develop on request topic materials
tailored to your school or group, maximising the benefit gained in the
workshops and debates themselves - and in our experience, teachers gain
as much from the experience as the students!
Comments on The Great Debate Schools Programme
‘Having new people in to school to extol the virtues of debating is great.
It is a fresh perspective from that offered by the teachers ...
It helps the participants to develop new ideas and ways of working and
shows them that the school (and others) support their interests and desire
to improve … It’s so good for them to have external input ...’
Claire Sinclair, teacher at Durham Johnston School, November 2011
‘The workshop in school was invaluable – it was lovely for them to have that
kind of intense feedback from someone other than me.’
Amy Savage, teacher at St John's Catholic School and Sixth Form Centre,
'I think the workshop was an excellent idea and our students came to it very
John Hill, teacher at Queen Elizabeth High School, Hexham, November 2011
'The Great Debate school workshop was a great opportunity for our students
to reflect on some important issues and also to develop useful skills
in synthesising material and gathering arguments. The students were put
under pressure to achieve this in a concentrated period of time.
They came up trumps and were left with a real sense of achievement.'
Val Hart, teacher at Stockton Sixth Form College, November 2011
'The Great Debate is an excellent
scheme and something I feel all schools should be involved with –
it’s wonderful to see the students making their cases and having to
think for themselves about their arguments and counterarguments.
I think they get loads out of it and it was
something that students who participated in the workshop at the SCENE
Conference really enjoyed and talked about for days after.'
Elizabeth Lunn, former co-ordinator, Sustainable Communities and Environments North East
(SCENE), February 2011
‘It was fantastic to see how the students developed their argument and how
they performed under pressure, by the different questioning fired at them.
It was a good way to involve a number of students and they gained not only
knowledge about the subject area but also brilliant communication skills.’
Deborah Johnson, Lecturer at Newcastle College commenting on The Great
Debate workshop held as part of the SCENE launch, Nov 2010
Preparing for debate at SCENE launch, November 2010.
Photographs by Kasey Williamson, student at Newcastle College
Our current top five propositions are:
"Multiculturalism is incompatible with equality"
"Sustainability is bad for the developing world"
"It is wrong to experiment on animals"
"Space exploration is a waste of money"
"Celebrities should have greater protection
from the media"
For more information contact Caspar Hewett.
As part of The Great Debate schools programme we hope to
involve more students in debate through our continued support of the Institute of Ideas' and
its highly successful pilot year, the competition launched in the North
East in 2005 and has continued to grow, attracting more and more schools
in the region.
demands more than rhetoric or rant from the sixth form students
who take part. Young people are encouraged to research
issues thoroughly and become
more confident and sophisticated in articulating their views
by standing up to a probing intellectual examination.
This is all part of the competition's philosophy
of privileging reasoned participation over rhetorical posturing.
Debate topics engage with contentious contemporary issues and uniquely involve a
critical examination of debater's arguments by celebrity judges
drawn from academia, the media and business.
for further details about the competition
Top of page