By OUR STAFF REPORTER
Dehradun, 28 Aug: St Joseph’s Academy hosted its prestigious ‘JL D’Souza Memorial Interschool English Debate Competition’, today, in the school auditorium. Present on the occasion were Principal, SJA, Brother Joseph M Joseph, and Community Leader, Brother Astinus Kujur. Joining them was the panel of judges along with coordinators, teachers, and students from classes IX to XII.
The event brought together the brightest young debaters from Convent of Jesus and Mary School, Ann Mary School, Welham Girls’ School, St George’s College, and Doon International School, etc.
The competition was judged by a panel of four experts, Randhir Arora, Diwija Pande, Mubashir Ahmed, and Swarleen Kaur. Representing SJA were Akshat Gupta, Anamitra Goswami, and Sejal Bali. Upon arrival, the participants were divided into two groups and assigned to Venues A (Library) and B (AV Room). The first round followed the Oxford format, where participants engaged in structured and thought-provoking debates. The topics were ‘This House believes that overindulgence with metaverse is leaving children disoriented and disconnected’ and ‘This House believes that the world needs humanitarians like Oskar Schindler more than businessmen like Elon Musk’. Once these topics were announced, everyone rushed to begin their preparation.
The second round, reserved for the top four teams, transitioned to the Parliamentary format with topics such as ‘This House believes that the upheavals all across the world are a manifestation of vested political interests’ and ‘This House believes that Indian Sportspersons are the kites that fly against the winds of indifference and callousness’.
The four teams, Convent of Jesus and Mary School, Ann Mary School, Welham Girls’ School, and St Joseph’s Academy emerged as the finalists amidst fierce competition.
The final round of debates was intense, with each team delivering passionate arguments that captivated both the audience and the judges.
The award for Best Speaker went to Jayanshi Shukla of Convent of Jesus and Mary School; the First Runner Up Speaker was Anamitra Goswami of St Joseph’s Academy; the Second Runner Up Speaker was Mansi Khanduri of Ann Mary School. Ann Mary School was declared the Runner Up Team while much to the delight of the audience and participants alike, the award for Best Team was claimed by Convent of Jesus and Mary.
