St. Andrew's Day Debating Championship 2018

Come and watch the Grand Final of our 2018 St Andrew's Day Debating Tournament from the Public Gallery at the Scottish Parliament. 48 teams of pupils from schools across Scotland, mentored by university students, come together for a full day of debating, culminating in a Grand Final in the main Debating Chamber. 2018 marks the 12th anniversary of this very special event. The competition takes place over a single day, with three rounds leading to a Grand Final in the Debating Chamber. Motions for the rounds cover a variety of topics, including equality, participation, democracy, and communities, and the format ensures that all debaters compete in three debates, with the top four teams going through to the Grand Final. Teams are mentored by university debaters and pupils are also involved on the judging panels and contribute to the floor debates. The debates are judged by panels comprised of university student judges, school pupils and ESU competition judges. The chance to compete in the seat of power in Scotland is a great incentive and creates real excitement over the whole day. The event is also about bringing young people from all over Scotland together to debate issues relevant to themselves and to Scotland, thus celebrating St Andrew’s Day in the best possible way.