Local pupils to debate compensation for historical injustice in Law Society tournament

Pupils from schools across Scotland are getting ready to debate the pros and cons of paying compensation for historical injustices in the second round of the Law Society of Scotland’s national debating tournament.

The opening rounds of the Donald Dewar Memorial Debating Tournament saw 128 teams from 102 Scottish schools putting their powers of persuasion to the test as they debated whether the internet does more harm than good. 61 teams made it through to the next stage of the competition and are now preparing to debate the motion ‘This House believes that compensation should be paid for the injustices committed by past generations’ in the second round heats.

Laura Gulliver, Careers and Outreach Manager at the Law Society, said: “We’ve had a great start to this year’s Donald Dewar Debating Tournament and I’m excited to see eight of the 14 schools taking part in the competition for the first time making it through to the next round.

“Debating is a great skill to have which as well as being good fun. Many schools now have debating clubs and they really encourage pupils to learn how to build convincing arguments and give them a voice to express their views and opinions.

“We set the teams a challenge in the opening rounds by asking if the internet is harmful and I look forward to seeing how the teams approach the next motion on compensation for historical injustice.”

“The June final in the Scottish Parliament’s debating chamber was an exciting finish to the last tournament, with superb performances from some very talented young people, some who had entered the competition for the first time, as they debated whether the media should restrict coverage of terrorist attacks.”

Second round heats are taking place on 21 and 26 January and the semi-finals will be held in March before the final in June.

The Law Society awards the first prize of £1,000 and the top two teams will share educational books to the value of £500 donated by the event sponsor, Hodder Gibson.

Further information and a Law Society video about the tournament featuring the 2013/14 winners and runners up can be found at www.lawscot.org.uk/debating.

All schools through to round 2 are listed below:

61 of the original 128 teams have qualified for the second round heats which take place on 21 and 26 January. Schools taking part for the first time are marked * and host schools for second round heats are in bold.

ENDS                                                                          13 January 2016

Notes to editors:

Established in 1999 and now in its 15^th year, the Donald Dewar Memorial Debating Tournament is Scotland’s largest annual schools debating tournament and is open to pupils in all Scottish secondary schools. Organised and run by the Law Society of Scotland, the tournament is dedicated to the memory of the former First Minister Donald Dewar MSP, who died in 2000.

Footage of the 2014/2015 tournament final is available from the Scottish Parliament https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRXURZRvHpc

For more information about the Donald Dewar Memorial Debating Tournament, visit www.lawscot.org.uk/debating or follow @lawscot #DewarDebate on Twitter.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Journalists can contact Sarah Sutton on 0131 476 8170 or email sarahsutton@lawscot.org.uk.