Speech & Debate
At Alegra, we prepare our students to develop the skills required to become women who will lead and to have a great impact on the world.
Lights, camera, action! Standing before an audience and articulating your thoughts has been gaining momentum in our educational landscape and beyond in the 21st century. At Alegra, we have designed a unique programme which aims to equip every one of our students with excellent communication and critical thinking skills.
All incoming students build their confidence through fun and engaging activities. They become budding stars who jump at the opportunity to provide a convincing portrayal of their characters, bringing real stories to life. They progress to build convincing cases for their stand, backed with an arsenal of evidence through research, and hone their debating skills to further sharpen their arguments. As critical and lateral thinkers, our students are equipped with an array of thinking tools to respond to impromptu questions and interact with any audience, persuasively.
Bombarded with a myriad of information online, our students are trained to deconstruct texts, particularly news or media materials, in order to expose and resist media manipulation. Extensive training and exposure culminate in students delivering speeches on current affairs before the entire school population where they put across their perspectives and insights. Our students are able to adapt their skills to a range of platforms – inside and outside of school – to scale greater heights of success.
At Alegra, the spiral progression approach to learning is pivotal. Our very own Speech and Debate Programme provides a road map for our students to hone a range of their communicative skills further. Developmental opportunities – ranging from presenting in the presence of classmates or the whole school community to competing in national and international competitions – all enable our students to discover and develop their talents, with the ability to think on their feet and respond cogently and confidently. The sense of discipline instilled also enhances their academic progress.
The Big Debate
Our students participate regularly in our annual in-house tournament with MYP 5 students going on to compete in the Big Debate. A series of rounds take place prior to the main event, culminationg in the top two teams going head to head.
Last year, our Big Debate teams debated whether or not “Social media must have a significant role in stopping fake news”. Our specialist panel of adjudicators was lead by Yago de la Cierva, a Professor and Doctor from IESE Business School. Mr. De la Ciervas was faced with the difficult decision of delivering the final verdict and announcing the winning team. In his delivery, he dedicated much time on congratulating all of our participants on their unflagging confidence speaking in public and the ability to express their ideas eloquently.