This year De Meergronden joined a pilot project for debating organized by the European Platform in which 12 schools took part.

First of all, in January two of our teachers, Zoe Heukels and Greet Minnema, were invited to participate in a workshop in the 15^th century former Town Hall of Middelburg, hosted by the Rooseveld Academy. After a day of intense debating practice, they were able to instruct students on the nature and rules of debating. Five TTO students were interested in joining and then De Meergronden in our turn was host to a workshop for students of our school and 3 other schools.

This workshop was held by an excellent member of the Utrecht Debating Society, a native speaker, whose enthusiasm was catching. The students worked very hard from 10 a.m. till 4 p.m., which prepared them for the final tournament to be held on 18 March at Christelijk Lyceum Zeist.

Our team, Betiana Barcala Cardalda (V4T), Shaunna Calpin, Nina Stokhof, Jan Harm van Wier and Bas Minnema (all V5T), were to debate about three motions in three rounds plus possibly a final round and they had to prepare seven motions for both proposition as well as opposition. They did not receive the motions until the end of February and they then worked hard at researching the motions and finding arguments and discussing them. They did not know whether they were going to be proponents or opponents until the very last moment before each actual debate.

On the day of the tournament our team went to Zeist accompanied by Zoe and Greet. The debates were nerve-racking for the students as well as the teachers, especially because after each debate they were not told whether they had won or lost, not until the final round. The prizes that could be won were  a trophy and a money prize of € 100. Furthermore, the jury could make nominations for the best speaker award which would also result in a small money prize for the speaker with the most nominations.

As it turned out, our team won the first two debates and lost the third from the team that came 2^nd after the final debate(Christelijk Lyceum Zeist). They were 5^th out of 12 schools and the winner was ORS Lek en Linge, Culemborg. Our Nina Stokhof got a jury nomination for best speaker. The girl, Tina, that was elected best speaker of the day was from OBC Bemmel. In actual fact, she got 2 jury nominations and 218 speaker points and our Shaunna Calpin also got 2 jury nominations and 217 speaker points, no less!!

On the whole it can be said that De Meergronden did very well. The team were very enthusiastic and they are thinking of setting up a school debating club. In this way they may even have better chances next year when all TTO schools are participating. Before the final debate in Zeist, the famous champion of ESL debating, Leela Koenig, gave a speech in which she told the students present that among them were in all likelihood the political leaders of the future. You never know!