Talking Up NUSA

Nottingham debate Finalists (Whole School - 01/05/2014)

The 29^th April saw the culmination of the 2013/14 Debate Mate season as the University of Nottingham hosted the Nottingham Deutsche Bank Debate Mate Cup. Due to consistently high attendance on club nights, NUSA were able to enter three squads in to the event. Nerves were evident amongst the NUSA students before the first matches as they eyed up the vast number of opposition participants from schools across Nottingham.  

Nerves quickly settled as students began their ‘Prepared Debate’ as the NUSA squads tackled the difficult topic of abortion with great maturity and passion. Two wins for NUSA were consequently chalked up within the prestigious higher education environment.

Two further unseen debates followed with pupils analysing an individual’s right to vote and the notion that celebrities should serve society as role models. NUSA stepped up to these challenges with some fantastically high scores and it soon became clear that NUSA had two teams who could have realistic ambitions of reaching the prestigious Deutsche Bank final in the Great Hall.

As scores for the day were eventually counted it was declared that the Year 10 team from Redhill Academy were finalist number one and after a brief pause and a huge cheer their opponents were announced as NUSA ‘B’. Both sets of finalist had a mere twenty minutes to prepare for the grand final, with the topic being the use of plastic surgery for non medical purposes.

The final itself was befitting of the historic venue i.e., the Great Hall. Redhill gave very entertaining and well presented arguments, which would have intimidated lesser teams, however, NUSA stood firm throughout. The mutual respect of both teams was evident as the winning team was almost impossible to call. The unenviable task of judging the final was conducted by five national and internationally acclaimed debaters. After fifteen minutes of deliberation, a split decision was called (judges voted 3-2) with Redhill narrowly claiming the victory.

Overall, it was a fantastic day for NUSA, which proved to be a culmination of fifteen weeks of hard work on the Debate Mate programme for the Year 8 & 9 students. With an additional year of study under their belts there is the hope that they will progress one step further next year and reach the London final.