Debating Society

Debating and the Debating Society have been around at Hereford Cathedral School for as long as anyone alive can remember, longer in fact.  In 1882 the Herefordian reported meetings at which such gems as “That the Stage has an evil effect on the English people” or “That flogging is rightly abolished in the army” were enthusiastically debated.  There is some evidence that the Society’s first meeting was held in 1874 or even earlier.

In 1884 the Channel Tunnel was a key issue for young Herefordians.  Equally prophetic were the organisers who framed the motion for the National Final of the Schools’ Debating Association’s competition in 1972, at which Stephen Williams and Michael Pope from the Cathedral School successfully opposed the motion “This House would replace student grants student loans” to win the coveted ‘Observer’ Mace.  The Mace was again won for the School in 1981 by Michael Walling and Gary Withers, collecting their trophy from the Lord Chancellor, Lord Halisham.  The School’s involvement with the Mace continues to this day, with the Society hosting the Western Area finals in 2006 and 2007.

The Society has also enjoyed success in national competitions organised by the Oxford and Cambridge Unions, with teams often reaching the final stages of these tournaments.  In 2000, the HCS team were the only team to reach the final ten in both national competitions – a notable achievement.  More recently, we have enjoyed success in the International Competition for Young Debaters, with our team of Alex Drury and Joshua Wooderson being ranked  9th and 14th out of 64 speakers despite being a year younger than most debaters!

The Society also enters the Taylor Trophy debating competition for GCSE debaters in the West Midlands.  Once again, we have enjoyed success in this competition, with both of our teams reaching the Grand Final – a rare achievement indeed.

As well as extensive external debating commitments, we also run a regular programme of internal debates, with students debating a range of topical and often hilarious motions every fortnight.  The Society is run by a committee of 17 students, a pupil chairing the committee.