NSW Premier's Debating Challenge finals

Enjoy the lively debate of this live-streamed final from the Great Hall University of Sydney on 1 August 2023 for the Hume Barbour trophy. This debate is between Cammeraygal High School and Sydney Girls High School.

This is the final of the Years 9 and 10 age division of the challenge, which was held in the Theatre Royal in Sydney on Monday 13 November 2023. With 325 other teams eliminated the teams from North Sydney Girls High School and newcomers Lindfield Learning Village reached this final. The speaking time is 8 minutes (with a warning bell at 6 minutes) and the topic of the debate is ‘That we should exclude smokers from the public healthcare system.’ Congratulations to both teams and to all the speakers and teachers across NSW who took part in 2023.

After 342 teams competed in over 550 debates across the year, the final 10 standing headed to a 3-day tournament tournament hosted by The Women’s College of the University of Sydney from Wednesday 6 to Friday 8 December. Following 5 rounds of debating and 2 semi-finals the teams from Narara Valley High School and Byron Bay High School reached this state final debate. The speaking time is 6 minutes (with a warning bell at 4 minutes) and the topic of the debate is ‘That students who receive unsatisfactory reports should have to do extra classes over the holidays.’ Congratulations to both teams and to all the speakers and teachers who made 2023 such a success.

A record 999 teams entered the 2023 Premier's Debating Challenge for Years 5 and 6, and after 2,500-odd debates, the 10 regional champions gathered at a 4-day tournament to decide the state champs. After 4 tight rounds of debating and 2 smashing semi-finals the evening before, Balgowlah Heights Public School and Timbumburi Public School met in the state final on Wednesday 15 November 2023. The topic was ‘That we should pay primary school teachers a bonus when their students’ results improve across the year.’ Massive thanks to all the teachers and parents who made it possible for the teams to get together for the championships, as well as to all the schools and students who did their part to make this the biggest debating competition ever!
First affirmative – 0:01:37
First negative – 0:06:10
Second affirmative – 0:10:02
Second negative – 0:14:32
Third affirmative – 0:19:08
Third negative – 0:24:21
Adjudication – 0:29:31

Each year, the different regions across NSW select a squad of their best primary school debaters to represent them at the Primary Schools State Debating Championship, which in 2023 was held at the Collaroy Centre from Sunday 5 to Wednesday 8 November. Each of the 10 regional representative teams debated 5 times on a series of unseen topics with just one hour of unassisted preparation time. After those rounds and a couple of semi-finals, it was the teams from Northern Sydney and Illawarra and South East who reached this final.

The speaking time is 4 minutes (with a warning bell at 3 minutes and a continuous bell if they reach 5 minutes) and the topic of the debate is ‘That kids in Year 5 and above should have to have a paid job for one afternoon a week.’ Congratulations to these 2 teams and to all of the speakers who were selected as one of the top primary debaters in their region for 2023.

First affirmative, Hornsby South Public School – 0:01:38
First negative, Moss Vale Public School – 0:06:40
Second affirmative, St Ives North Public School – 0:11:51
Second negative, Goulburn South Public School – 0:17:01
Third affirmative, Beecroft Public School – 0:22:12
Third negative, Wollongong Public School – 0:27:22
Adjudication – 0:32:30

This is the final held in the Great Hall of the University of Sydney on Friday 5 August 2022 between Rose Bay Secondary College and Sydney Girls High School. The topic of the debate is ‘That we should stop having a prime minister.’ Congratulations to both teams and to all the students and teachers who committed to debating in their senior years and made this competition such a success.

1st Affirmative – 0:05:46
1st Negative – 0:10:09
2nd Affirmative – 0:18:38
2nd Negative – 0:25:25
3rd Affirmative - 0:34:30
3rd Negative – 0:41:16
Adjudication – 0:50:30

The final of the Years 9 and 10 age division of the challenge took place on Monday, November 7 2022, in the Telstra Theatre in Sydney. James Ruse Agricultural High School and Sydney Girls High School were the 2 teams that made it to the final out of a total of 284 competing teams. The speaking time for the debate was 8 minutes, with a warning bell at 6 minutes. The topic of the debate is ‘That Australia should ban cosmetic surgery.’ Congratulations to both teams and those who contributed to the competition's success in 2022.

1st affirmative – 0:03:55
1st negative – 0:11:34
2nd affirmative – 0:20:44
2nd negative – 0:29:22
3rd affirmative – 0:38:40
3rd negative – 0:47:36
Adjudication – 0:56:57

313 teams across the state entered the Years 7 and 8 challenge in 2022, with just 10 of them winning their way to a state championships tournament held at The Women’s College of the University of Sydney from Wednesday 7 to Friday 9 December. Following 5 rounds of debating and 2 semi-finals the teams from Bellingen High School and James Ruse Agricultural High School reached this state final debate. The speaking time is 6 minutes (with a warning bell at 4 minutes) and the topic of the debate is ‘That the Australian government should block all online gaming sites and apps on weekdays.’ Congratulations to both teams and to everyone who competed in 2022. 

1st Affirmative – 0:01:45
1st Negative – 0:06:10
2nd Affirmative – 0:13:23
2nd Negative – 0:20:35
3rd Affirmative – 0:26:56
3rd Negative – 0:34:00
Adjudication – 0:41:11

For the first time since 2018 the Years 5 and 6 division of the Premier's Debating Challenge was decided at a state championships tournament. Ten regional champions who beat out 875 other teams gathered at Stanwell Tops for a series of debates over 3 days, culminating in this state final between Alstonville Public School and Randwick Public School on Wednesday 16 November. The topic was ‘That kids should be given a second chance to complete their assignments if they get a bad mark.’ Cheers to all the students and teachers who made the championships tournament, and indeed the entire 2022comp, such a rollicking success!

1st Affirmative – 0:01:08
1st Negative – 0:06:18
2nd Affirmative – 0:10:52
2nd Negative – 0:16:00
3rd Affirmative – 0:20:32
3rd Negative – 0:25:40
Adjudication – 0:30:36

Each year the different regions across NSW select a squad of their best Years 9 and 10 debaters to represent them at these championships which are held over 3 days at the Women’s College of the University of Sydney. Each team debates five times on a series of unseen topics for which they have only one-hour of unassisted preparation time. Following those rounds and two semi-final debates, the Western Sydney region and the Sydney region made it through to this grand final. The speaking time is 8 minutes (with a warning bell at 6 minutes) and the topic of the debate is ‘That Australia should have a four-day working week.’ Congratulations to all the students on being selected to represent their region, and thanks to all the teachers who helped along the way!

For the first time since 2019 the 10 different regions across NSW selected their very best primary school debaters to represent them at these championships which were held over 4 days in November. Each of regional representative teams debated 5 times on a series of unseen topics with just one hour of unassisted preparation time. Following those rounds and 2 semi-final debates, the Riverina and the Hunter/Central Coast made it through to this final debate.

The speaking time is 4 minutes (with a warning bell at 3 minutes and a continuous bell if they reach 5 minutes) and the topic of the debate is ‘That student leaders should be picked at random once a term.’ Congratulations to these 2 teams and to all of the speakers who were selected as one of the top primary debaters in their region for 2022.

1st affirmative – 0:00:48
1st negative – 0:06:05
2nd affirmative – 0:11:18
2nd negative – 0:15:50
3rd affirmative – 0:21:00
3rd negative – 0:26:11
Adjudication – 0:31:06

This is the final of the Years 11 and 12 age division which was held over Zoom on Friday 17 September 2021 between Smiths Hill High School and Sydney Girls High School. The speaking time is 8 minutes (with a warning bell at 6 minutes) and the topic of the debate is 'That employers should be allowed to fire unvaccinated employees.'

Congratulations to both teams and to all the students and teachers who juggled various schools commitments through the 2021 COVID-19 lockdown to help keep this competition running to such a smashing conclusion!

For over 6.5 hours on Wednesday 17 November 2021, 38 speakers from across NSW debated over banning sports gambling, with each speaker Zooming in, listening to the speaker before them, and then delivering their rebuttal and speech while the next speaker listened and so on.

The 8 best speakers were chosen to go into a traditional quarterfinals series, through which Smiths Hill High School and Sydney Boys High School qualified for this grand final. The topic is 'That we should introduce a mandatory retirement age for teachers.'

Congratulations to these 2 schools and everyone who made that incredibly long day of debating so much fun!

Years 7 and 8 students from Rose Bay Secondary College and Smiths Hill High School qualified for the grand final of the World's Biggest Debate, conducted online. The topic was 'That the government should censor misleading information on social media during a pandemic.'

Congratulations to both of these schools and everyone that participated in this event.

From 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM on Tuesday 9 November 2021, 50 speakers from all across NSW debated one after the other about whether or not to ban homework, with each speaker Zooming in, listening to the speaker before them, and then delivering their rebuttal and speech while the next speaker listened and so on.

The 8 best speakers were chosen to go into a traditional quarterfinals series, through which Alexandria Park Community School and Randwick Public School qualified for this grand final. The topic is 'That students should be picked for selective high schools based on their primary school record instead of a test.'

Congratulations to these 2 schools and everyone who participated in that amazingly long day of debating!

This is the final of the Year 11 age division which was held over Zoom on Thursday 3 December 2020 between Sydney Boys High School and Sydney Girls High School. In response to a debating season shortened by COVID-19 the Year 11 division was opened up to all government schools in NSW, with 54 teams taking part in a state-wide modified knockout competition (teams losing in the first round had the opportunity to join a repechage draw and return to the main knockouts as the fourth semi-finalist). The speaking time is 8 minutes with a warning bell at 6 minutes.

The topic of the debate is 'That the government should impose financial penalties on people who refuse to take the COVID-19 vaccine.'

Congratulations to both teams and to all the students and teachers who took part in 2020.

This is the final of the Years 9 and 10 age division of the challenge, which was held over Zoom on Wednesday 9 December 2020. In response to a debating season shortened by COVID-19, this year the 198 teams entered participated in a state-wide modified knockout competition, with teams losing in the first round having the opportunity to join a repechage draw and return to the main knockouts as the eighth quarter-finalist.

In the end it was Cammeraygal High School and James Ruse Agricultural High School who reached this state final. The speaking time is 8 minutes with a warning bell at 6 minutes.

The topic of the debate is 'That parents should be able to withdraw their children from sex education classes.'

Congratulations to both teams and to everyone who competed in 2020.

This is the final of the Years 7 and 8 division of the challenge, which was held over Zoom on Thursday 10 December 2020. After three zone round-robin debates and five state-wide knockout finals, these teams from Armidale Secondary College and Callaghan College Waratah Campus (in Newcastle) reached this state championship debate. The speaking time is 6 minutes with a warning bell at 4 minutes.

The topic of the debate is 'That Australia should boycott the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.'

Congratulations to both teams and a massive thanks to all the teachers and students in the 234 teams who worked so hard to make the 2020 competition a roaring success in the midst of a pandemic.

The Premier's Debating Challenge for Years 5 and 6 is a huge competition, with 659 teams completing more than 1,500 debates in 2020 despite being delayed and forced online by COVID-19. This state final was held over Zoom on Monday 14 December and features Terrigal Public School (on the affirmative) and North Sydney Public School (on the negative).

The topic was 'That primary school classes should swap their teachers around every week instead of having the same teacher all year.' and the speaking time was four minutes.

Congratulations to both these teams and to all the students and teachers who contributed to the competition thriving in 2020!

Join us for the final of the year 11 and 12 NSW Premier's Debating Challenge live from the Great Hall at Sydney University.

The Year 9 and 10 Debating Challenge, organised by The Arts Unit of the NSW Department of Education, dates back to 1950 when the Teasdale brothers donated a trophy for a debating competition between North Sydney Region Boys Schools. By 1979 the Teasdale Cup had expanded to include schools from Picton in the south to Wyong in the north. In 1982 it became a state-wide competition.

Each year 10 different regions across NSW select a squad of their best Years 9 and 10 debaters to represent them at these championships which are held over three days at the Women’s College of the University of Sydney. Each team debates 5 times on a series of unseen topics for which they have only one-hour of unassisted preparation time. Following those rounds and 2 semi-final debates, the Western Sydney region and the Sydney region made it through to this grand final. The speaking time is 8 minutes (with a warning bell at 6 minutes) and the topic of the debate is 'That we should ban parents from drinking around their children.' Congratulations to all the students on being selected to represent their region, and thanks to everyone who made the tournament so brilliant!

1st Affirmative – 0:00:59
1st Negative – 0:10:01
2nd Affirmative – 0:19:08
2nd Negative – 0:28:13
3rd Affirmative – 0:36:48
3rd Negative – 0:45:58
Adjudication – 0:55:03

Each year ten different regions across NSW select their very best primary school debaters to represent them at these championships which are held over four days in November at Collaroy.

Each team debates five times on a series of unseen topics for which they have only one-hour of unassisted preparation time.