The Advertiser – SA’s Top High School Debaters
Three of our debating students – Samual, Jessica, and Molly were featured in a recent story about the top high school debaters in South Australia. Thank you to The Advertiser for highlighting the accomplishments of our talented students.
Samual, 15
Year 11 student at Australian Science and Mathematics School (ASMS) Samual only started debating last year but has already received an award for his performances.
The 15 year old received debater of the night in one of his six debates in 2023 and said the feeling when he is speaking was “unimaginable”.
“When it is your time to speak and you stand up facing the adjudicator, making up things as you go hoping to squeeze out a win, the emotions are unimaginable,” he said.
Jessica, 16
Accomplished debater at ASMS Jessica loves winning competitions, but for her “the process of debating itself” is more rewarding than personal accolades.
The 16-year-old has won speaker of the night on multiple occasions and has won the Debating SA competition once.
“What appeals to me most about debating is the opportunity it provides to engage in critical thinking, articulate ideas persuasively, and engage in constructive dialogue with others,” the Year 11 student said.
Molly, 16
Fellow ASMS student Molly finds debating challenging.
But this does not stop the Year 12 student from taking part and even winning debater of the night.
“By continuing to turn up every time, I get the chance to increase my confidence and public speaking skills,” the 16 year old said.
“I always feel extremely nervous in the hour or so leading up to a debate, and just before I’m about to speak.
“When I start speaking though, I often get into the flow of it and it feels quite natural, almost enjoyable.”
Those who have a subscription can read the full article here.
SA SRC Representatives
Two of our ASMS students, Dee and Lauren are South Australian SRC representatives this year. They recently had their introductory webinar to meet the other 100 students representing the state in youth leadership and are currently working on a campaign to lower the voting age of local government elections to 16 years of age. It will be exciting to see how this campaign progresses over the year.
Australian Maths Trust Competition
In Week 9, 6 students from Year 10-12 have completed the Online Maths competition run by the Australian Maths Trust (AMT). Inspired by the AMT’s Australian Mathematics Competition, Kangourou sans Frontières (KSF) is now the largest maths competition in the world, with more than 6 million participants each year. Held in March, the KSF is a great opportunity for students to experience maths in a competition environment prior to the AMC in August.
