Oratory Article
Last Friday’s Competition Debates
Last Friday night was the make-up round of the ISDA Competition, with Year 8 and 9 completing their final preliminary debates against St Catherine’s and Ascham, respectively. Although the 9s narrowly lost their debate, the Year 8s won theirs and succeeded in achieving an undefeated preliminary season – consequently topping their division! Well done to Rahul Loomba, Ethan Goldberg, Finn Dusseldorp, Felix Evans, and Peter Wang.
See below the ISDA topics on the night:
| Division | Topic Area Make Up Round ISDA |
| 8 | That we should fine children for unsafe road behaviour (for example, not wearing a helmet while bike riding or jay-walking). |
| 9 | That we should fine children for unsafe road behaviour (for example, not wearing a helmet while bike riding or jay-walking). |
See below the final preliminary season tally:
| ISDA Division | Round 1 vs SACS | Round 2 vs St Caths | Round 3 vs Kincoppal | Round 4 vs Kambala | Round 5 vs Shore | Round 6 vs Scots | Round 7 vs Ascham |
| 7 | WIN | Loss | WIN | Loss | Loss | WIN | Loss |
| 8 | WIN | WIN | WIN | WIN | WIN | WIN | WIN |
| 9 | WIN | WIN | WIN | Loss | Loss | WIN | Loss |
| 10 | WIN | WIN | WIN | WIN | Loss | WIN | WIN |
| Senior B | WIN | WIN | WIN | Loss | Loss | WIN | Loss |
| Senior A | WIN | WIN | Loss | WIN | WIN | WIN | WIN |
The 2024 season has seen Cranbrook further build on more than half a decade of back-to-back achievement. In 2018, we sat firmly in the bottom 8 – ranked 28th of 32 independent schools within the competition. The drive and efforts of teachers involved with the programme, a diverse and experienced coaching team, and the fostering of a culture of high expectations among students has seen us gradually rise in the ranks, first into the low 20s, then to 14th place last season. This year, Cranbrook catapulted into the top 5 schools in the competition at 4th place, firming further our reputation as an institution committed to academic and co-curricular excellence.
Our strong performance in the preliminaries also mean a record number of our teams will progress to the out-rounds of ISDA. All six teams proceed to the Octo finals over the next fortnight. We wish all of them well on the next stage of their debating journey, which we hope will end with some Grand Final appearances, especially since Cranbrook is hosting it!
On the Eastside front, debaters had a rigorous first round back after the holidays, facing Sydney Girls in Round 6. At the end of the night, the Year 9s and 11s had achieved wins and by doing so pushed Cranbrook into new territory for achieving our best ever Eastside Competition tally since joining in 2013! With one more preliminary round to go, we hope to not only knock that record out of the pack but also ensure some of our teams can follow in the footsteps of last year’s 7s and 8s who went to semi-finals.
See below the Eastside round topics:
| Division | Topic Area Round 5 Eastside: Social Movements |
| 7 | That we should significantly increase the costs of driving a non-electric car (e.g. higher toll prices, parking fees, speeding fines and registration). |
| 8 | That we should significantly increase the costs of driving a non-electric car (e.g. higher toll prices, parking fees, speeding fines and registration). |
| 9 | That we support hacking as a form of protest. |
| 10 | That the environmentalist movement should refrain from discussing the environmental costs of green technologies (e.g. flooding caused by hydroelectric dams, lithium mining for batteries). |
| 11 | That the environmentalist movement should refrain from discussing the environmental costs of green technologies (e.g. flooding caused by hydroelectric dams, lithium mining for batteries). |
| 12 | That the environmentalist movement should refrain from discussing the environmental costs of green technologies (e.g. flooding caused by hydroelectric dams, lithium mining for batteries). |
See below the updated tally for Cranbrook:
| Eastside Division | Round 1 vs Sydney Grammar | Round 2 vs Scots | Round 3 vs Reddam | Round 4 vs Sydney Boys | Round 5 vs SCEGGS | Round 6 vs Sydney Girls |
| 7 | Loss | Loss | WIN | WIN | WIN | Loss |
| 8 | Loss | WIN | Loss | WIN | Loss | Loss |
| 9 | WIN | WIN | Loss | Loss | TBC | WIN |
| 10 | Loss | Loss | WIN | WIN | WIN | Loss |
| 11 | Loss | WIN | WIN | Loss | WIN | WIN |
| 12 | WIN | WIN | WIN | Loss | Loss | Loss |
Competition Debating this week
This Friday 10th May sees the following debates take place:
| Details | ISDA vs MLC | Eastside vs Sydney Girls High School |
| Round | Octos 1 for Years 9, 10 and Senior As only (all other ISDA teams train at Cranbrook – usual times apply) | Round 7 |
| Venue | Kings – TLC and CLL Buildings (click here for map) | Rose Bay Secondary |
| Address | 87-129 Pennant Hills Rd. North Parramatta. | 34A Hardy St, Dover Heights NSW 2030 |
| Entry via | Enter at traffic lights on Pennant Hill Rd go through first roundabout and left after second round about and then parking available on the immediate left-hand side – clearly visible. Cross the pedestrian crossing above car park and then turn left and walk to reception and then follow signs to the CLL Building. | Enter via the main gates on Hardy Street. There will be signs directing visitors to debates. |
| Transport | Debaters in Years 9, 10 and Senior As going to Kings will be transported by school vehicle. There is the option to travel back to Cranbrook, leaving at the end of the senior debates, approx. 9pm with a return time of approx. 9.40pm. | Being in the Eastern Suburbs, debaters must make their own way to the venue on Friday afternoon. |
| Years 7-9 debate / finish | Debates start 6.30pm / Debates finish 7.30pm | Debates start 6.15pm / Debates finish 7.15pm |
| Years 10-12 debate / finish | Debates start 7.30pm / Debates finish 9.00pm | Debates start 7.15pm / Debates finish 8.45pm |
| Topic area | None advertised | Social Movements |
| Spectator policy | Spectators welcome for Years 9, 10 and Senior As. | Spectators welcome for all divisions |
A reminder that all Years 7-9 debaters must be collected by a parent or guardian at the end of the night.
Cranbrookians involved in oratory competitions
Our training sessions and workshops not only prepare students to become better-rounded individuals and excellent communicators, they also prepare those keen to participate in a range of external competitions. On Friday night, Year 12 student Piers Alcott represented Cranbrook at the prestigious Lawrence Campbell Competition at Scots College, going up against students from GPS and CAS schools. An impromptu speaking event, it is one of the more challenging out there. We currently have teams competing in the annual Evatt Model UN Competition, with some engaging in their mock Security Council debates at the Cranbrook hosted round on Tuesday this week. Many more will have their preliminary rounds at various weekends at UTS over the month of May.
This Wednesday evening, Kernel He in Year 9 will compete in the Regional Final of the Rostrum Voice of Youth and we wish him well in this next stage of competition. Next week, Year 12 students Alex Hong and Owen Woolford will journey to Sydney Girls High School for the heats of the annual Plain English Speaking Competition – an event that draws on public and independent school students, and is one of the major state speaking competitions of the calendar year. A little further ahead, our Mooters are about to commence their Bond University competition, and our Mock Trial students have their second round coming up against Moriah College on Thursday 23rd May.
Competition opportunities are published to students involved in oratory programmes through TEAMS groups. For those who have yet to try their hand at an external event, it’s a great opportunity to learn from other speakers and to meet socially with other passionate peers from a wide range of schools. Over the course of the year, Cranbrook will also host some internal events for non-programme students, including our annual House Debating Competition (starts Week 4 of this term) and some soon to be announced public speaking house and evening occasions. Stay tuned!
Upcoming oratory events
- Rostrum Voice of Youth Regional Final (Easts Leagues Club) on 4.15-6.15pm Wednesday 8th May
- Model UN on lunchtimes Wednesday 8th, Thursday 9th, and Friday 10th May
- Mock Trial and Social Debating 3.30-5.30pm Thursday 9th May
- AMEB Voice and Communication 3.30-5.00pm on Friday 10th May
- ISDA Octos 1 debates (Years 9, 10, Senior As – all vs MLC at Kings) and Octos 2 preparations (Years 7, 8 and Senior Bs – all at Cranbrook), and Eastside R7 vs Rose Bay Secondary (away at Rose Bay) on Friday 10th May
- Public Speaking Club on Monday 13th May
- Plain English-Speaking Competition (Sydney Girls High School) on 9.30am-12.30pm Thursday 16th May
Oratory programmes above are fully subscribed for Semester 1
There has been a lot of recent interest in participating in one or more of our oratory programmes listed above. However, close date for sign-ups have long passed and we are presently fully subscribed across all debating, public speaking, and Model UN. We are therefore unable to accept new enrolments. However, students keen to gain access to our resources and prepare themselves for Semester 2 sign-up are welcome to reach out to me (note, we only accept expressions of interest from students directly). Sign-up for Semester 2 offerings will circulate via student email in mid-June.
Contact
Should you or your son have any further questions about any of Cranbrook’s oratory programmes, you are welcome to reach out to the Head of Oratory and Student Journalism, Mr Benjamin Smith, at bsmith@cranbrook.nsw.edu.au. In the first instance, students should be making contact about getting involved.
Essential information and highlights for parents will be posted here on Cranbrook Connect as part of the Thursday Link. Students involved in oratory programmes will receive updates via their respective Canvas or TEAMS channels.
Benjamin Smith
Head of Oratory & Student Journalism