Local pupils to debate immigration controls in Law Society tournament

Pupils from schools across Scotland are getting ready to debate the pros and cons of immigration controls 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 97 Scottish schools putting their powers of persuasion to the test as they debated the pros and cons of EU membership. 64 teams won through to the next stage of the competition and are now preparing to debate the motion ‘This House would abolish all immigration controls’ in the second round heats.

Heather McKendrick, Careers and Outreach Manager at the Law Society, said: “We’ve had an excellent start to this year’s Donald Dewar Debating Tournament and it’s great to see 11 of the schools taking part in the competition for the first time winning through to the next round. Debating is a great skill to have and can be great fun as well as helping pupils learn how to build convincing arguments and give them a voice to express their views and opinions.

“Young people in Scotland have shown great democratic interest over the last year and the motion for the opening rounds of this year’s tournament saw students tackling the issue of EU membership. I look forward to seeing how the teams approach the next motion on immigration controls.”

Second round heats are taking place on 20 and 29 January and the semi-finals will be held in early spring 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:

64 of the original 128 teams have qualified for the second round heats which take place on 20 and 29 January. Schools taking part for the first time are marked * and host schools for second round heats are in bold.

ENDS                                                                          19 January 2015

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.

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