Forbes High school’s debating team is well on their way to reclaiming a state title, after taking out the Lachlan level of the NAIDOC debating and public speaking competition for the second year in a row.
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The side was victorious over five other schools, and means they will progress on to the Western Region finals, which they have also won for the past two years running.
And if they do manage that hat-trick, the team will progress on to the state finals - and the bar has been set high. Forbes High School won the state title in 2014, but were runners-up last year.
The debating team, consisting of Nic Mulligan (year 11), Whitney Duffy (year 8), Maddison Collits (Year 11) and team advisor Jessy-Lea Byrnes (year 11), debated the topic; ‘Traditional Songlines should be maintained’. Songlines was the theme of NAIDOC Day for 2016.
They prepared both the affirmative and negative case and a coin toss determined which side they would debate, with speaker order Nic, Whitney, Maddison and advisor Jessy-lea Byrnes.
Forbes High School’s debaters argued negative in the qualifying round, and affirmative in the final round.
“The students are fantastic representatives of Forbes High School,” drama and english teacher Andrew Swan said.
“They display the skills of team-work, eloquence, and passion, something that will help them onto success in later life.
“It’s a pleasure to work with such talented students as we work to build strong relationships between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians, which is why the competition was invented in the first place.
“By working together students are gaining a greater appreciation for the Aboriginal culture,” Mr Swan said.
Nic Mulligan received a perfect score in the final debate, which is quite a mean feat.
“Maddison Collits also received the feedback that the timekeeper was so engaged with her speech that the timekeeper forgot to keep an eye on the clock for a bit, which is the best compliment any debater can get,” Mr Swan said.
The western region finals of the NAIDOC debating and public speaking competition will be held in Tottenham next term on a date and time to be advised.
