Debating
The PNBHS Debate Club
Debating has traditionally been popular at PNBHS and continues to have a strong following this year. Throughout each term, the PNBHS Debating Club meets every second Wednesday in C6 for limited-prep practice debates and workshops with guest speakers and debating leaders.
Junior Debating
At the beginning of every year, Year 9 and 10 students are invited to register their interest in joining a school debating team. Each team has a Teacher-In-Charge and two senior debating students who act as mentors for the boys.
This year, PNBHS Junior Debating has 12 students comprising 4 debating teams, who were chosen after undergoing a rigorous audition and selection process.
The John Prestage Competition for juniors is organised at a District level, where the boys compete against St Peters College, Wanganui High School, Wanganui Collegiate, Wanganui College, Cullinane College, Feilding High School, Freyberg, PNGHS, and Nga Tawa in both ‘home’ and ‘away’ fixtures.
A new moot is sent out at the beginning of terms 1, 2 and 3 and both the semi-finals and final are held in term 4.
PNBHS is proud of the students who progress from junior debating to debate at a senior level. Many of the students become student leaders and also mentor junior debating teams. The Premier Junior Debating Team also represents the school in annual school exchanges with Napier Boys’ High School and Wellington College.
Our school is well supported by Dr Geoff Watson from Massey University who trains senior students in adjudication and adjudicates inter-school debates.
Senior Debating
Students who wish to get involved in senior debating are invited to take part in trial debates at the beginning of the academic year. The reason for the trial debates is to pick teams for the regional debates as well as the Manawatu Schools Debating Competition, which take place throughout the school year. Topics are of a political or contemporary issues nature with a national or international context. We aim to pick three teams for this regional competition, with one of the teams being named Senior A.
After the regional competition, performances are evaluated and a Senior A team is picked for the Super 8 competition. Following that competition there are traditional school debates against Wellington College and Napier Boys’ High School.
This year, we are pleased to have three Senior Debating teams: The Senior A, PNBHS Grey, and PNBHS Blue.
