Queen’s College London was delighted to host this year’s Spanish Interschool Debating Competition, welcoming students from leading schools across the UK for an evening of lively discussion, all in Spanish!
The event brought together around 20 independent schools to compete in Spanish-language debates, giving students the opportunity to demonstrate their fluency and critical thinking in front of an expert panel of judges.
Distinguished judging panel
Debaters were assessed by a distinguished panel of judges with expertise spanning education, diplomacy and academia:
- D. Fernando Bartolomé Usieto, Education Advisor at the Spanish Embassy in the UK and Ireland.
- Juan Carlos Machuca, President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the UK.
- Professor Alexander Samson, Professor of Early Modern Studies and Director of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies at UCL.
- Peter Taylor, Deputy Director at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Their feedback and questions challenged competitors to refine their arguments while celebrating the high standard of spoken Spanish demonstrated throughout the evening.
Preliminary debates
Students debated entirely in Spanish, demonstrating not only impressive linguistic ability but also strong analytical and persuasive skills.
Teams competed in a series of preliminary debates tackling contemporary issues. Motions included whether internet access should be considered as fundamental as access to water or electricity, whether the private lives of famous people should remain private, and whether feminism in Spain has gone too far.
Four teams progressed to the semi-finals, debating whether access to museums should be free, and whether cultural traditions should change with society.
The final
After two closely contested semi-final debates, Latymer Upper School and St Paul’s School progressed to the final, where they debated the motion:
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“Un país solo necesita un idioma oficial.” (A country only needs one official language.)
Both teams delivered outstanding performances, demonstrating impressive linguistic fluency, sharp reasoning and confident public speaking. After careful deliberation by the judges, Latymer Upper School were declared the worthy winners.
Celebrating languages
The competition forms part of a wider effort to promote excellence in modern languages education and was supported by organisations including Instituto Cervantes and the Independent Schools Modern Languages Association (ISMLA). One student reflected on the experience:
“It was such an inspiring event - a fantastic atmosphere and a great chance to practise our Spanish in a real debating environment. I particularly enjoyed seeing the different styles and strengths each school brought to the debates, which challenged everyone to think quickly and respond confidently in Spanish.
Even though many of us had never met before, everyone quickly started chatting, sharing how the debates had gone, and encouraging one another. It was also really fun and sweet to network with both teachers and students from other schools - the sense of community was wonderful.”
Queen’s College was delighted to host such a vibrant and inspiring celebration of Spanish language and debate, and we congratulate all students who took part.