Royal & Prior Comprehensive School

Debating:

Concern Debates: Sept. 2009-June 2010

The school debating team, consisting of James Dowling (captain), Gordon McCauley, John Fallows, Neil Mupfupi (for the first three debates) and Nikola Porter (for the last two debates) reached the last 32 of the 25th All-Ireland Concern debates.  On our way, we faced numerous teams, contesting many different motions. 

Our first debate was against Magh Ene College on the 26th of November, opposing the motion “The West is not serious about combating climate change.”  We won this debate unanimously (3-0). 

Our second debate was against Colaiste Cholmcille on the 10th of January, proposing the motion “ The Irish media has an unfair and stereotyped view of Africa.”  We won this debate by a majority vote (2-1).  On the 21st January, we faced Ursuline College and we were proposing the motion “As the UN approaches its 65th birthday, it should consider retirement.”  We lost this debate, narrowly, by a majority vote (1-2), but we still progressed to the knockout phase.

In the first round of the knockout phase, on the 25th of February, we faced Colaiste Cholmcille again, this time opposing the motion “Genetically modified food is essential in the fight against world hunger”.  We won this debate by a unanimous vote, though it was close. 

On the 9th of March, we had our final debate of the year.  We were defeated 2-1 by Ursuline College, opposing the motion “The Millennium Development Goals are a lost cause.”
The competition began with over 100 schools and the Royal and Prior reached the final 32, winning the Donegal phase of the competition.