For the first time since 2010, Mercy College have entered the Senior competition. As you may remember, our 2017 Year 10 team were Runners Up in the Sydney competition. They, and Mercy College, wished for them to continue using and strengthening their excellent argument skills. However, the difficulty with entering the Senior competition is linked to the CSDA requirement that we field two teams. Thanks to some innovative planning, we were able to secure a solution. It is a pleasure to announce that St. Pius X, Chatswood volunteered to travel with us and debate. This pairing of schools allows us both to field an extra debating team and to benefit those speakers who would otherwise miss out on the opportunity.

Last week, we started the CSDA debating season with a glorious clean sweep, winning all debates. What a wonderful achievement for our debaters, old and new. We hosted St. Augustine’s College, Brookvale for Round 1. They provided an interesting and challenging opposition. Their approach was more relaxed in manner and more formidable in argument development as they relied less upon the formulaic structures to which we have grown accustomed when debating other schools.

The Years 7 to 10 topic was “that there are too many rules”. Years 7 and 8 won officially by forfeit because the opposition did not bring their adjudicators. However, St Augustine’s College did bring their Year 7 and Year 8 teams to enable a friendly competition and to build the skills of all debaters at the beginning of the season. Both debates had an uncertified adjudicator who announced the Mercy teams as the winners. Years 9 and 10 won their debates with sound arguments, effective refutation and a confident manner.

The Senior topic was “that we lead superficial lives”. The Year 11 St Pius X team defeated St Augustine’s in a debate that avoided the cliché of social media, Kardashians and teenage self-interest. This is a remarkable achievement in itself. The debate hinged on definitions but the art of the debate was evident. The Mercy College Senior team, consisting of Year 11 students, won with their typical flair for exposing the opposition’s flaws with subtlety. We wish all the teams the very best for the season.

Mrs R Morgan
English Co-ordinator