Kerikeri High School retain Northland title
On the 29th of April the 2011 Russell McVeagh Northland Regional Debating Championships were held at Kerikeri High School. Three teams from Kerikeri and two teams from Whangarei took part. Teams debate in three limited preparation rounds throughout the day followed by a
final in the evening.
Students debated a variety of topics throughout the day, including internet activism, overseas land sales and the merits of beauty pageants. The break was extremely close, coming down to only a few speaker points. Ultimately, Kerikeri 1 and Kerikeri 2 made it through to the final.
The Grand Final was held in front of a large audience on the topic “This House believes that individuals should choose to be vegetarian on ethical grounds”. It was the highest quality final that has been seen in Northland for a number of years and the adjudicators really enjoyed the entertaining and knowledgeable speeches from all participants. Kerikeri High School 2 were announced the winners in a 2-1 split decision. This is the fourth year in a row that Kerikeri High School has won the final!
Thank you very much to Di Eastwood who hosted us at Kerikeri High School. Many thanks also to the adjudicators, Aria Newfield, Callum Rose, Desley Horton and Lucy Harrison.
Congratulations to all of the students who received awards:
Most Promising Speaker: Lucy Ellingham – Kerikeri High School
Highly Commended:
Freya Forstner – Kerikeri High School
Kate Wilson – Whangarei Girls’ High School
Reserve to the Northland Team:
Max Irving-Lamb – Kerikeri High School
Northland Team 2012:
Jesse Prendergast – Kerikeri High School
Samantha Scahill – Kerikeri High School
Jonathon Luiten – Whangarei Boys High School
Corrine Marti
Northland Convenor 2012