I have recently returned to Durham after representing Durham's A team at the World Schools Debating Championship in Cape Town, South Africa. It was an absolutely wonderful experience, and an amazing opportunity to explore a part of the world that I had never previously been able to see. Without the generosity of the Hatfield Trust in supporting the extra-curricular activities of Hatfield Students, I would not have been able to take part in this competition. I am incredibly grateful for the assistance that I have been given, and proud to come from a college that so evidently values the development of its students both within and outside of academic commitments.

 

I arrived at the University of Cape Town campus just after Christmas, ready to begin the competition on the 28th of December. At the competition, there were 267 teams in total representing universities from countries including the United States, Mexico, Qatar, Hong Kong, Australia, Malaysia, Spain, Russia, Zimbabwe, the Netherlands, Israel, New Zealand, and many more. The competition begins with 9 preliminary rounds, followed by knockout rounds; partial octo-finals, octo-finals, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals. After the preliminary rounds, Durham A was ranked as the 7th best team in the world. As we ranked in the top 16 after rounds, we went straight into the octo-finals. We made it through to the quarter-finals,as proposition on the motion “This House believes that an approach of Political Expansionism on the part of the Chinese state is in the interests of the Chinese people.” In the quarter-finals, we won the round, making it through to the semis – we were opposition on the motion “This House supports a norm of embracing anger in public discourse rather than one of aspiring to dispassionate objectivity.” In the semi-finals, we were proposition on the motion “This House would impose a narrow banking regulation.” We unfortunately did not make it through the semi-final on a split decision, with two of the judges on the panel voting to put us through. While we were obviously disappointed to have so narrowly lost out on the finals of the competition, we were very happy with this result as it was Durham’s best finish in at least the past 10 years as well as the third time in a row that Durham’s A team was the best all-female team in the world. Other than our team results, at the end of the competition I was ranked as the 2nd overall speaker in the world – not only was this Durham’s best ever individual finish at worlds, but I was very excited to be the top female speaker in the world as well as the best speaker representing a European institution.

 

Outside of the competition, we also took the time to explore the city of Cape Town to truly get to know the new country we had come to visit. We visited the Victoria Alfred Waterfront, which is the oldest harbour in South Africa and home to some of the best seafood I have ever eaten. Then we went to the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, which holds the largest collection of contemporary African art in the world. We also went to have a tour of the Castle of Good Hope, which is the oldest colonial building in South Africa and the best-preserved example of a Dutch East India company building in the world. It was amazing to learn more about South Africa’s history, and I believe it was incredibly important to become aware of the country’s past in order to understand its context in the present. One of the most amazing things about South Africa was its striking natural beauty – the weather was amazing, and we got to visit Seal Island as well as the African penguins at Boulder Beach. Our last excursion in South Africa was to go to the top of Table Mountain, which was voted one of the new 7 wonders of the world in 2011. It was a fabulous end to an amazing trip.

 

I cannot thank the Trust enough for facilitating my ability to attend this competition and see this part of the world.