School pupils storm through to debating tournament next round

School pupils from across Scotland successfully debated the pros and cons of holding referendums to win through to the next stage of the Law Society of Scotland’s national debating tournament.

The opening rounds of the Donald Dewar Memorial Debating Tournament saw 128 teams from 85 Scottish schools putting their powers of persuasion to the test as they debated the motion ‘This House would ban referendums’.

The remaining 64 teams are now preparing to take part in the second round heats of the biggest schools debating tournament in Scotland

Heather McKendrick, head of careers and outreach at the Law Society of Scotland, said: “We’ve had an excellent start to this year’s Donald Dewar Debating Tournament and it’s great to see six of the schools taking part in the competition for the first time winning through to the next round.

“Debating can be hugely rewarding for the pupils taking part and it’s been really encouraging to see so many schools entering teams in the tournament this year. As well as being good fun, it helps young people gain confidence, find their voice and learn skills that could help to open up future opportunities.”

Second round heats will take place on 26 and 31 January and the semi-finals will be held in March before the grand 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 about the tournament can be found at www.lawscot.org.uk/debating or follow #DewarDebate on Twitter.

All schools through to round 2 are listed below:

64 of the original 128 teams have qualified for the second round heats. Schools taking part for the first time are marked *