The Arts Unit Unit Creative Teachers
Coordinating high school debating
Coordinating or coaching for the first time
Not sure where to start?
We understand that taking on a new role (such as becoming a debating coach or facilitating debating in your school) can be challenging.
Some strategies to assist you could include:
connecting with other coaches in your region – you could do this by engaging with other coaches on training days or when you visit schools for a debate
seeking out a mentor – this could be someone from your school or it could be someone who supports you remotely.
On this website, you can:
View the debating in high school page to explore the benefits of debating, syllabus links and what competitions are available.
Work your way through the basics of debating page to learn the ins and outs of debating.
Collect resources and view a large number of activities for students in the coaching activities section.
Explore the rest of the coordinating debating page to learn about things like selecting a team and hosting a debate.
Budgeting for a debating program
If you have not previously run a debating program in your school, you may be unsure about budgets and program costs.
Depending on the competition and the number of teams you enter, budgets can vary significantly.
Debating competitions
What competitions are available?
Depending on your school and region, there may be a number of local competitions for your team to enter.
Some will be more scaffolded and suited to students who are new to debating. Others (such as the Premier's Debating Challenge) allow one hour for preparation and teams must prepare without a teacher. The Premier's Debating Challenge competitions for years 7-10 starts with round robin debates before progressing to a series of knockout finals. Years 11 and 12 take part in a knockout competition.
Make sure you select the competition that suits your school and students. Some schools choose to enter more than one competition if they have multiple teams.
Premier's Debating Challenge
The Premier’s Debating Challenge is run by The Arts Unit and is open to government schools throughout NSW.
Teams entering the challenge compete in a round-robin series of debates against nearby schools, with the winners going on to compete at regional and state level to determine the eventual state champion.
Currently, the divisions are:
Years 5 and 6
Years 7 and 8
Years 9 and 10
Years 11 and 12.
For the most up-to-date information, make sure you visit the Premier's Debating Challenge website.
Representative debating
The Arts Unit also run a number of programs to provide opportunities for exceptional debaters in NSW.
The Primary Schools State Debating Championships take place over several days and involve teams of students in Years 5 and 6 from each region of NSW.
The Junior State Debating Championships take place over several days and involve teams of students in Years 9 and 10 from each region of NSW.
The Combined High Schools debating team is open to government school students in Years 11 and 12 who compete in a series of debates against representative teams from non-government schools.
The New South Wales Debating Union (which is not affiliated with The Arts Unit) selects a representative team from government and non-government schools to compete in the National Schools Debating Championships each year.
Local debating opportunities
If you are interested in local debating opportunities you can contact your regional coordinator. Each region differs, but they may offer opportunities such as local competitions, camps, student training days or professional learning. Select the drop-down arrow to view the regional coordinators.
Sydney: Cathy Barden (Kirrawee High School)
South-West Sydney: Celeste Fernandes (Sarah Redfern High School)
Northern Sydney: Edwina Horler (Asquith Girls High School)
Western Sydney: Daniel Van De Kieft (Pendle Hill High School)
Hunter and Central Coast: Matt Benton (Gosford High School)
North Coast: Anita Milne (Toormina High School)
New England: Fiona Smee (Armidale Secondary College)
Riverina: Libby Ridgeway (Murrumbidgee Regional High School)
Illawarra and South East: David Wassink (Illawarra Sports High School)
Western NSW: Lauren Ward (Dubbo College South Campus)
Hosting a debate
The Speaking competitions hub contains all the information you'll need to host a debate (including chairperson scripts and competition information guides)
Note: the following is general advice only. Consider the requirements of your competition when organising a debate.
Selecting a time
You should consider the following when selecting a time:
adjudicator availability
travel time for the visiting school (online debates are always an option)
having a student audience (you might want to work around break times)
your availability and class timetable
an audience (it is always preferable for students to debate in front of an audience, if possible)
noise levels (if you are debating during a break, there might be a lot of residual noise making it difficult for the teams and adjudicator to hear).
Booking an adjudicator
Consider the following when you are booking adjudicators:
Ascertain the availability of your frequently used adjudicators prior to locking in dates with other schools.
Keep your adjudicator in the loop, confirming the time, date and location once it's been decided.
Make sure you use the list of adjudicators you receive from your competition organiser. This will ensure they are qualified and screened to work in your school.
If a person you contact indicates that they are no longer adjudicating, make sure you let your competition organiser know so they can update their master list.
Timing for a secondary debate
Depending on various factors, including the age group, you may need to allow for roughly 2 to 2.5 hours to host a debate (if the debate includes one hour of preparation). Approximate timing might be:
topic selection and/or affirmative and negative allocation (5 to 10 mins)
take students to their prep rooms (2 mins)
preparation time, if applicable (60 mins)
students to debating room and audience to be seated/settled (5 mins)
the debate (40 to 60 mins)
adjudication (5 to 10 mins)
post-debate snacks and debrief with adjudicator (15 mins).
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