Huge well done to Nikita, Safiya, Kiki and Ruth for their outstanding performance at the Regional French Debating Competition held at St Paul’s Girls’ School this month. 

Nikita and Safiya won all their rounds, and the team as a whole competed brilliantly, including facing tough competition from boys’ schools such as Eton, Merchant Taylors’, Latymer Upper, and Queen Elizabeth’s. 

“The Head of Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) at Oxford High School GDST sought me out afterwards to say how impressed he was by our girls’ level of French and their resilience and tenacity”, commented Blackheath High’s Head of MFL Madame Bass.

Safiya, from Year 12, reflects on the experience:

This month we had the privilege of participating in a French Debate competition for A-level students at St Paul’s Girls’ School. Over the course of several months, we prepared extensively for three challenging motions: mass tourism, surrogacy, and influencer culture.

Despite the majority of competitors being in Year 13 and therefore having an additional year of experience, our team delivered an outstanding performance, winning five out of six debates overall.

We were particularly proud to secure victories against strong competition from schools including Eton College, St Olave’s, West London Free School, Merchant Taylors’, Latymer and Tunbridge Wells.

This was an immensely rewarding experience, and we are extremely proud of what we achieved. We look forward to building on this success and hope to progress even further next year.