The Sixth Form Debate Final 2026 was held in the Main Hall on Tuesday. It was an outstanding demonstration of debating, and a very fitting end to what has been a terrific season.   The motion was a topical one: 'This House believes that it is time that the UK acknowledges that the British Empire did more harm than good.'   Mr Burke was the Chair for the final, and he did a tremendous job of entertaining the audience, introducing the final, and managing the points of information, whilst being ably assisted by James Vician of Y12 who was our time-keeper and bell-ringer.

The Proposers were 13E's Jacob Austin and Alex Williams, and facing them in Opposition were 12A's Agnes Evans and Will Pearne.  All four students were simply outstanding.  All spoke with great clarity and poise, offering richly evidenced and persuasively delivered arguments with great assurance and confidence.  The motion was dissected with skill and precision, and compelling lines of argument were presented by both teams.  The depth of research and the breadth of arguments were a real credit to all four students.  Numerous points of information were offered and accepted as the debate heated up over its first four rounds, the majority being responded to with real intellectual dexterity. 

Similar skills were showcased in response to the questions that were raised by the audience in the floor debate as Will and Alex offered their final summaries.  The adjudicating panel - the Head of Sixth Form, Mr Leatherbarrow,  Peter Michener, the Chair of Governors, and last year's champions, Amelie Paul and Emma Tricks of 13C - had the difficult and unenviable task of selecting a winner.  The verdict ultimately favoured the Proposers, this year's very worthy champions, Jacob and Alex.  Congratulations to them!