The College debate team recently participated for the first time in the prestigious Oxford Schools' Debate Competition organised by the Oxford Student Union. 

Set up by the politics department, the team travelled to London to take part in the South East Regional Round against a range of other schools and colleges. 

In a series of British Parliamentary debates our teams debated two interesting motions - whether 'euthanasia should be legal' and 'if conscription would strengthen security for at risk states'. The Farnborough teams received praise from the judges for their delivery, questioning and teamwork. 

The students found it to be a highly rewarding and enriching experience.

Ella, First year student said “It was an extremely fun experience but also terrifyingly nerve-wracking at the same time, but I still loved it. It will definitely be one of my best memories of 2025".

While Yumna , First year student, added that “Participating in the competition against other incredibly skilled teams was a really enriching experience and exciting challenge. The debate topics were thought-provoking and challenged us to think critically about a range of global issues. The judges' feedback was particularly valuable, providing insightful comments that helped us to improve our debating skills. Overall, it was a fantastic exercise in teamwork, communication and public speaking, and I thoroughly enjoyed all of it".

Her teammate Emilia, first year student, very much agreed: "I loved participating in the Oxford schools debate competition! We got to discuss and debate some really interesting, thought-provoking topics and received valuable feedback from the judges. It was also a lot of fun building up our arguments with my teammate, and it was also a great opportunity to practice public speaking. I really hope to participate again next year and would definitely recommend it to others!".

Prior to the event, the students had been undertaking weekly practice sessions during lunchtimes to hone their debating skills. Stephen Ellis, Politics subject teacher has been running the debate sessions this year. 

Reflecting on the event Stephen said “All of the Farnborough debaters did an excellent job. Not seeing the motion beforehand and only having a short period to prepare for the debate is extremely challenging, and all of our teams did an excellent job coming up with innovative arguments. It has been a real pleasure to watch our debaters go from strength to strength over the last few months and I am looking forward to working with them and some new debaters as we get ready for next year’s competition”