“People should debate. They shouldn't be afraid to talk. You should listen to what other people think and how they make decisions. There should be an exchange of ideas and opinions because that's how we learn.” - Catriona Gray

"I like it when we all give our thoughts and opinions and we decide what we need to do." - MV Pupil

"By taking part in debates we really have to think carefully about how to get our point across." - MV Pupil

"I like nothing more than to give my class something they can really get their teeth into and debate to a satisfactory conclusion!" - MV Staff

"Children learning to express their opinion in a diplomatic way is a real life skill." - MV Parent

"We are delighted that staff have identified so many different opportunities within the curriculum to include debate." - MV Governor

Having debates in the classroom is part of everyday life at Morley Victoria.  We encourage the children to share their ideas and beliefs and listen to the ideas of others.  We also ask the children regularly to make informed decisions when given facts about a given topic.  Debating skills are so good to develop oracy, vocabulary, the use of Standard English, Growth Mindset and confidence in the classroom.  We have very passionate children at Morley Victoria who always want to share their views. Here are just a few examples of how debate is used through different curriculum subjects:

As well as being threaded through the curriculum, debate is also part of life at Morley Victoria.  We have many debates in groups we run in school such as the school council, eco committee, anti bullying ambassadors and diversity developers.  We also have ‘The Week’ magazine delivered to school each week – in there, there is a debate of the week, this always challenges our thinking.  Many classes in school watch the news each week too.  This of course opens up discussion and debate in the classroom.