Advanced English Courses at Debating Matters
Debating Matters is a British competition that gives students the opportunity to debate current controversial topics.
The advanced English courses decided to participate in the annual Berlin competition, which was held at the University of Europe for Applied Sciences together with 11 other schools from across Berlin on June 12, 2026.
The competition is divided into a group stage, consisting of four groups with three teams each, followed by a knockout round. The topics are assigned at random and are published a month in advance.
Our students showed courage and excellent teamwork during both the preparation and the debates themselves.
Although Elena and Sofia received positive feedback from the judges, they unfortunately lost their debate on the topic “Social media should be banned for under-16s” to the team from Paulsen-Gymnasium. Paulsen-Gymnasium ultimately went on to win the competition.
However, Paul and Andi were able to convince the judges in their debate on the topic “Should Germany host the Olympic Games?” and won against Schadow-Gymnasium.
Many students in the audience also asked questions during the debates.
While it was an interesting experience and a real challenge for the debaters, the competition could benefit from more interaction between the teams.
Ms Freise and Mrs Stegemann were extremely proud of their students’ commitment, teamwork, and impressive performances during the competition.
Text: Kasian Özen, Paul Mönnig, Miguel Gaspar, Dayyan Chavosh, Pijana Vatnoy
Fotos: Dayyan Chavosh, Annemarie Stegemann, Debating Matters
