This week saw Hambleton House take on Round House in the Champions Debating Final, debating the motion “This house believes that unhealthy lifestyles are not the business of government”.
“It was not long until both teams were getting into the nitty gritty of where government responsibility over lifestyles starts and ends”, says Teacher of History and Debating Coordinator, Robert Evans. “Hambleton presented consistent arguments centring on the importance of freedom of choice within a democracy, looking also at the interesting angle of how overly restrictive approaches to controlling lifestyles can have negative economic impacts.” Round House centred squarely on the financial cost to the state of not intervening, supported by arguments on the duty of care the government owes to us all.”
Robert continues “It was a close run contest, with some pertinent points being raised. Ultimately, victory went to Round House, their win confirmed when they picked up on Hambleton’s point about the need for education, which Round House argued was fundamentally the responsibility of the government. Well done to both teams for all their efforts.”
The new year will see the junior inter-house debating competitions begin in earnest. This level of competitive debating is where it all began for tonight’s participants!
