Debating

Dulwich College understands that the benefits of debating go beyond the fun and the thrill of the competition, the camaraderie with teammates and the opportunities to travel all over England. Students develop:

• Critical thinking skills: critical analysis skills are developed along with the ability to propose workable solutions. Taught to synthesise vast quantities of information, students who debate become adept at problem solving and innovative thinking.
• Public speaking skills: debating provides a non-threatening environment to practice public speaking, improving students’ confidence and success at interviews.
• Academic skills: students who debate excel in oral and written communication and greatly improve their reading comprehension. Debaters become independent learners with advanced research skills, highly valued by universities.
• Emotional maturity: debate engages students with serious subject matter in a mature environment. The discipline hones listening skills and helps pupils to recognise how others think.

There are currently around 60 students in the Debating Society at Dulwich College (Years 7 to 13), which is open to both those who are interested in competing in debating competitions, and those who would simply like to improve their ability to engage with current affairs and political issues.

Competition attendance

 Debaters have many opportunities to extend external competitions. In the academic year 2024-25, students are competing in:

• ESU Mace
• South Hampstead High School competition
• UCL Winter Schools
• LSE Winter Schools
• Oxford Schools
• Cambridge Schools
• Nehru Cup, hosted by Harrow

Recently in the UK, Dulwich College debaters are:

• LSE Winter Schools 2025: Gold finalists, breaking second; top individual speaker, three other speakers in top ten.
• LSE Seniors 2025: Gold Finalists, breaking first. Top ten individual speaker.
• LSE Juniors 2025: Gold Finalists.
• Cambridge Schools 2025: fourth ranked team, progressing to the final.
• Oxford Schools 2025: second ranked team, progressing to the final.
• LSE Winter Schools 2024: Gold and Silver Finalists
• UCL Winter Schools 2024: Gold Finalists
• Dulwich Schools 2024: Bronze Finalists
• International Competition for Young Debaters (ICYD) 2024: first and second teams to progress to the final day from London regional
• LSE Schools 2024: Silver & Gold Finalists
• Cambridge Schools 2024: progressed to finals day
• Oxford Schools 2024: progressed to finals day
• UCL Schools 2023: Silver Finalists
• LSE Juniors 2023: Silver Finalists
• SHHS Autumn Debating 2023: Champions
• Cambridge Schools 2023: progressed to finals day
• Manchester Schools 2022: Silver Champions
• LSE Winter Schools 2022: Winners
• Imperial Schools 2022: Winners

Recently internationally, Dulwich debaters:

• In 2025, Louis was selected for Team England
• Were chosen to be part of Team England and represent the country in the World Schools' Debating Championships every year between 2013 and 2020
• In 2020, Joe was selected for the England team
• In 2019, Luke was selected for the England team

Dulwich Debating Coach

Sachin Tissera is the Debating coach for Dulwich College. Having been on the international debating circuit for five years, and having experienced it at all levels, Sachin has developed a rigorous approach to debating to ensure students enter competitions feeling fully prepped and excited to test their skills. Sachin’s experience judging at European University Debating Championship (EUDC) final, watching countless debates and weighing the arguments and strategic approaches of teams from schools and universities around the continent has given him the ideal experience for coaching students at Dulwich. His high standards alongside his good-humoured and warm approach to students from Years 7-13, from beginners to seasoned debaters, has led to many successes at competition level.

Dulwich Schools' Debating Competition

Dulwich annually host the Dulwich Schools' Debating Competition. A firm favourite of those who attend, this competition is growing yearly: we look forward to hosting our 16^th competition in 2026. 

One of the first competitions in the debating season, Dulwich Schools’ has twenty debating rooms, and is attended by the best debating schools in London. It is the largest school-hosted senior debating tournament in the country. The competition boasts an exceptional panel of judges and chief adjudicators attracting students and schools nationwide: in 2025, adjudicators included previous members of Team England Debating and WSDC. From complete novices, to members of the national team, all students have personalised feedback from accomplished judges to help their skills improve. Dulwich students are given the opportunity to compete, and those that do not are still given the opportunity to shadow judge other schools.

For any enquiries about the competition, please email Emma Nairne, Head of Debating: nairneev@dulwich.org.uk

 

External links

Debaters have the opportunity for friendly debating spars against local schools as well as termly outreach training sessions with schools in the Southwark Schools Learning Partnership (SSLP). We have previously collaborated with youth centres to promote access to debating skills.

If you would like to arrange a friendly spar, please email Emma Nairne, Head of Debating: nairneev@dulwich.org.uk

History of Debating at Dulwich

Dulwich College has a long tradition of debating. Long before its first society was founded in the 1860s, students exercised their critical thinking and verbal dexterity through public speaking.