Latest Competition News
The Premier's Debating Challenge for Years 11&12 wrapped up on the final day of Term 3, with the team from Smiths Hill High School awarded the win and the championship for 2021! Smiths Hill successfully affirmed "That employers should be allowed to fire unvaccinated employees" against an equally impressive Sydney Girls High School team. Congrats to both squads on what the panel and organsiers agreed was a cracking state final that rivaled the very best we've seen across the competition's 91 years!
We'll be posting a complete video of the final as soon as we can so that you can see their brilliance for yourselves, and in the meantime congratulations to all the teams who reached the finals (they're listed below) and to everyone who took part in one of the 246 round-robin debates that made up the 2021 competition. Best of luck to all for both your HSCs and your university debating careers!
| Armidale Secondary College | Asquith Girls High School |
| Auburn Girls High School | Billabong High School |
| Braidwood Central School | Burwood Girls High School |
| Callaghan College Jesmond Campus | Cammeraygal High School |
| Canley Vale High School | Crestwood High School |
| Elderslie High School | Epping Boys High School |
| Fort Street High School | GRC Oatley Senior Campus |
| Gosford High School | Hornsby Girls High School |
| Hurlstone Agricultural High School | John Edmondson High School |
| Killara High School | Lurnea High School |
| Macquarie Fields High School | Merewether High School |
| Mulwaree High School | North Sydney Girls High School |
| Orange High School | Port Hacking High School |
| Rooty Hill High School | Sefton High School |
| Smiths Hill High School | Sydney Boys High School |
| Sydney Girls High School | The Ponds High School |
| Toormina High School | Ulladulla High School |
| Westfields Sports High School | Young High School |
Years 11&12 Information
The Years 11&12 Premier's Debating Challenge is the oldest competition of its kind in NSW. It began in 1930 with the generous donation of the trophy by Miss Hume-Barbour, a descendant of Hume the explorer. Initially only boys’ schools in the metropolitan area were eligible to enter, but is now open to all government schools across the state.
The competition takes the form of one hour preparation debates with both sides having a choice of 3 topics. All teams are grouped into zones of 6 for the round robin level of the competition and after the zone winners have been determined the competition enters a knock-out phase.
You can check out the list of past state champions by clicking here, and you can watch the 2020 Year 11 final below or go to Vimeo to watch the debate. There you'll have more options like being able to download the video or jump between speakers by clicking on their times. Congratulations again to everyone who made this most senior division of the challenge in 2020 such a success!
