Debating

The students of Midleton College are famous for being well able to "fight their corners" and nowhere is this more apparent than on the debate teams. In recent years, there has been a flowering of the society under Mr. Chris Baker.
The school regularly enters a team of four speakers into the Concern debates - the first rounds of which are run between October and December. The Motions are always based around topical 3rd world issues and are all the more challenging for that.
We hope to build on past success. In the school year 2007/2008 our team consisted of Sarah O’Shea, Paige Crosbie, Seth Shanagher, Sean O’Regan and Emily Simonin. Erudite orators all! Following our first three debates we were knocked out of competition but a good time was had by all and it was a great experience for the future.
Over the past number of years we have also entered individual speakers in Midleton Junior Chamber Annual Schools Public Speaking Competition. This can be a very nerve -wrecking event but one which afterwards always leaves one feeling more confident in one's ability to address a crowd.
We also hold weekly in-house debates every Tuesday evening. Form 1 students are afforded the opportunity to out-smart students in Form 4 while the older students enjoy passing on their pearls of wisdom to the juniors. This year we’ve covered topics ranging from School issues, the pitfalls of celebrity to weightier debates touching on voting age and eating disorders. The debates benefit from a strong multi-cultural participation where points-of-view can differ radically depending on students’ cultural background. It’s open to all students from Form 1 to Form 6