Echuca College’s senior debating team successfully debated their way through the heats and finals to become the 2014 Northern Rivers Debating senior champions. The Echuca College team had to face Boort Secondary College, the winner of the previous two years, in the final at the Rochester Wine Bar on Tuesday 9th September. The other final of the night saw Rochester’s intermediate (years 9 and 10) defeat St. Joseph’s in a close contest arguing that ‘all parents should have to attend parenting classes’.
The Northern Rivers Debating competition is a long running competition that takes in nine secondary schools from around the region. Kyabram and Boort have been among the winners in recent years but this year there were four different schools involved in the two finals. Organiser of the competition, Sharon Pickering, said ‘The quality of debating from all four schools in the finals was excellent and it was great to see four different schools represented’.
The Echuca College team, made up of VCE students in year 11 and 12, had to argue the affirmative that ‘Real education begins after school’. Georgia Harris, a year 11 student from Echuca College, was the first speaker and set up a very logical and well thought out argument that was further developed and defended by Tegan Milne and Kayla Arkinstall as the second and third speakers respectively. During the heats at Kyabram Echuca College had Jessie Hardess fill in for Kayla Arkinstall and all four girls are thrilled with the win.
