Anyone set up, attended or had their child take part in a debating society.

[twinsetandpearls]

I am setting one up at school and have never done anything like this before.

Any experiences would be helpful

Don;t let me down ladies , debating is at the heart of what we do/

I'm afraid I can't help but I was a member of the debating team at school and I loved it. It it great for building confidence and makes you think about things from different points of view.

How old are the kids?

I teach in a secodary school, 11 -18. I am not sure if I should limit it to Key Stage four and five or all years.

We started ours by getting involved in this competition:
www.esu.org/page.asp?p=1837
It is too late for this year but if you phone and order their material it gives you excellent guidance on how to stage and organise debates.
I would limit it initially to KS4 and KS5 - but one year our Y11s beat the Y13s from a very prestigious private schoool in the opening round so it could involve all of those...
Also, the kids can use it as evidence for their GCSE English Speaking and Listening...

I did think about limiting it to Ks4 and 5 but I can think of so many students in lower school who would get so much from it and be jolly good.

I may open it to Ks4 and 5 and see what numbers I get. If ig goes well I could do a lower school one