The Anna-Schmidt-Schule participated in the English Debating Competition once again, but many things had changed since the last round. Our journey began at the train station, where we boarded a train to Stuttgart. The team had a blast on the train, chatting and playing games. Upon our arrival in Stuttgart, the rain poured down, and the temperature dropped significantly. Despite the chilly weather, we had to make our way to Bad Cannstatt right away. So, we took the S-Bahn to Cannstatt and then walked a long way to the hosting school.
When we arrived at Johannes Kepler Gymnasium, the school was relatively empty, with no one in sight. After a while, a teacher greeted us and directed us to a small room next to the entrance to the main hall, where the motion announcement would take place. Meanwhile, they prepared the tables and snacks. After the impromptu motion “THW abolish all private schools” was announced, our impromptu team, consisting of Arne S., Mareike S., and Neil M., quickly went into the preparation room and discussed their arguments. After an hour, the debate finally began, with Neil making a strong start by proposing the motion.
The International school defended well, countering multiple points brought by our school. Despite this, the debate remained competitive, and in the end, we narrowly lost. However, this setback did not dampen our team’s motivation. After the exciting debate, all speakers took some time to relax.
Next up was the prepared team from ASS, once again facing off against ISF’s Swing team. The first speaker from ISF delivered a great speech, but they couldn’t match Sofia L., who countered with over five arguments. Their second speaker struggled to refute our points, while Xiaoyang, our second speaker, delivered his three points flawlessly at a rapid pace. Their third speaker attempted to rebut some arguments, but our third speaker, Josi, easily handled the situation. In the end, we emerged victorious against ISF and headed home.
It was an exhausting journey, but we gained valuable experience and developed into brilliant speakers. We can’t wait for the next debate and eagerly anticipate our next battle. Through these debates, we have learned how to become top speakers and are constantly improving our skills.
Artikel von Xiaoyang Hu, 5b