The Institute of Ideas has run the Debating Matters Competition since 2002. As Debating Matters enters its tenth year in 2012/13 we are delighted to open up the competition to 50% more schools and are inviting teachers from the Teachers Support Network to sign their school up.

From its inception, Debating Matters has championed a different approach to schools debating, one where substance is emphasised over style, and young people are taken seriously. Schools with a long tradition of debating, and those with none at all can excel in this format.  Interaction, and a critical engagement with the topics, lie at the heart of the competition’s format and offer students a unique intellectual challenge. Students are required to conduct in-depth research using the competition’s Topic Guides, and through a dynamic interaction with an adult judging panel and the audience, are engaged in discussion on their arguments, challenged to substantiate their case and encouraged to delve deeper in to key contemporary questions.

Teachers tell us that Debating Matters offers them the opportunity to explore ideas, free from the constraints of the school curriculum. Explaining her attraction to the competition, Janet Paterson, a teacher at John Cleveland College in Leicester said: “As a first timer I was struck by the challenge Debating Matters presents to the students… It’s really been what we all hope education should be - and so often falls short of.”

If you are a teacher interested to find out more or to register your school to take part, please email Justine Brian or apply here.

If you would like some pointers on setting up a debate club in school, then feel free to download our new ‘Beginners Resource Pack’ here.

We hope to see you and your school in the autumn for some lively debates!