Although the Gold Coast Debating Competition is ongoing, I am privileged to inform our school community of the success of our QAHS Debaters in the 2024 Competition, to date. We congratulate each of the 94 Debating students for their commitment to representing QAHS throughout the Debating season and draw particular attention to the involvement of our ten Year 10 teams, students who, although new to the Academy in 2024, willingly chose to accept the challenge of representing QAHS in the Gold Coast Debating Competition. I look forward to their continued participation in Debating, next year.
While 9 QAHS Debating teams narrowly missed out on qualifying for the knock-out Debating Finals, 10 QAHS Debating teams qualified for the Finals series which commenced in Term 3, yet another outstanding achievement by QAHS Debaters in 2024, collectively.
Notwithstanding the high standard of debates in the Finals series, 3 QAHS Debating teams reached the Quarter Final in their debating division, and I am delighted to announce that all 3 teams won their Quarter Final debate to qualify for the Semi-Finals, which will take place on Wednesday 28 August at Somerset College. Congratulations go to the following QAHS Debating teams for qualifying for the Semi-Finals:
Intermediate B QAHS 3
Johanna Lee, Liesl-Mae Avin, Matilda Duhig, Izabella Wilson, Chloe Mo
Intermediate B QAHS 4
John Wang, Pranav Nithish Shanmugasundaram, Sandeep Panchumarthi, Schuma Kishi, Alice Yao
Open A QAHS 8
Lily Cronly, Dante Pellegrino, Isla Kelly, Pravit Tandon
It must be highlighted that the 10 Year 10 students in the 2 Intermediate B teams that have qualified for the Semi-Finals were not only new to the Academy this year but were also new to debating! Each team also faces an additional challenge as part of their upcoming Semi-Final debate, as they will be competing against each other to secure their place in the Grand Final. Thanks must go to the QAHS Senior Debating Captains – Isla Kelly, Lily Cronly and Dante Pellegrino – these Year 12 students worked concertedly with our Year 10 novice Debaters earlier in the year, to develop their debating knowledge and skills.
Our formidable Senior Debating Captains are also members of the Open A QAHS Debating team that were runners-up in the 2023 Grand Final. Hence, their replication of the success they achieved last year, all while balancing the challenges of the final year of their IB journey, deserves due recognition and praise.
My heartfelt congratulations go to each of these students for their success in the Gold Coast Debating Competition thus far in 2024, and we wish them all the very best as they rise to the challenge of competing in the Gold Coast Debating Semi-Finals.
If you are interested in supporting our QAHS Debating Finalists, keep an eye on the Gold Coast Debating website as well as their Instagram account @goldcoastdebating, as updated information regarding the Semi-Final and Grand Final debates will be released via those online sources.
Karen Mackie
Debating Coordinator