On Saturday 18th September 2010, the Grand Finals of the 2010 Schools’ Competition were held in The House of Assembly Chamber of Parliament House. Each debate began with a welcome from the Chairman of the Board of Debating SA, Mr Tony Houey.
Year 8
The day began with the Year 8 division debate at 10:00am with the Year 8s debating the topic “That celebrities should be seen and not heard.” It was a sure win for Glenunga International High School, given that both the Affirmative and Negative were from the same school!
Year 9
The Year 9 debate followed at 11:00am with Pulteney Grammar School debating St John’s Grammar School on the topic “That the limelight makes people green.” The Negative team from St John’s Grammar School were victorious.
Year 10
At 12:00pm the Year 10 debate between Westminster School as the Affirmative and Pembroke School as the Negative began. The topic for debate was “That modern art is a fraud.” The debate was awarded to Pembroke School.
Senior
The Senior division debate began at 2:00pm with the Australian Science and Mathematics School debating Scotch College. Scotch College successfully convinced the adjudication panel that the dead do not rule the world.
Open
The final debate of the day was the Open division debate at 3:30pm on a quodlibetical topic.
The scenario concerned the right of a private corporation to patent the discovery of a gene. Students were challenged to engage with the ethical issues of such an act in comparison to the commercial interests of a corporation.
After an engaging debate Pembroke School was declared the winner.
Debating SA would like to thank Miss Chloe Fox MP, Member for Bright for her support in securing the The House of Assembly Chamber.
Our thanks to the adjudicators for their expertise and all others who made the Grand Final such a special event.