Rugeley pupils victorious after debating skills win national contest

The Hart School in Rugeley is once again celebrating the success of its talented pupils – this time in a national debate competition.

In a contest that was open to all Year 9 Creative Education Trust schools across the country The Hart School’s debate team emerged victorious.

The Rugeley pupils beat off tough competition from 11 other secondary schools to lift the title.

The winning team was made of up of six Year 9 pupils – Evie Gretton, Hilary Knight, Theo Dixon, Ruby Follows, Charlie Sparkes and Max Corfield.

Debating is a life skill – The Hart School Principal

Intriguing topics of debate included why humans should focus on building a civilisation on another planet rather than trying to fix the problems on Earth, as well as the use of artificial intelligence to make political decisions.

Principal Rachael Sandham said: “The ability to speak confidently and debate topics – whether as the opposition or supporting side – is an important life skill which our pupils can carry with them into the world of work.

“Our debate team’s skills were phenomenal. We’re incredibly proud to see them win this prestigious title. They confidently won three of the four rounds outright – and they only just missed out winning all four rounds by one point in the third round, so it was nearly a clean sweep!

“A huge well done to all debate team students.”

Oversubscribed school proud of extra-curricular activities

The annual debate competition, held in partnership with The Kalisher Trust, is one of many extra-curricular events held by Creative Education Trust (CET), which The Hart School is a proud part of, throughout the year.

The Year 9 debate team was also accompanied by Year 10 student Jacob Davies who won the CET’s photography competition to be an official photographer on the day.

Ms Sandham added: “We are thrilled to continue to offer such an extensive and wide-ranging extra-curricular programme for our children which builds on their skills and knowledge that they learn in the classroom as we prepare them for the world outside of school.”

School’s £2.5m expansion includes net zero building set to be unveiled this summer

The Hart School, which is ranked in the top five first-choice secondary schools for Year 6 parents in Staffordshire and is oversubscribed, continues to invest in its facilities, including a net zero building that will be unveiled later this summer as part of a £2.5million expansion plan.

The Hart School is one of 17 schools run by the Trust across the East and West Midlands and on the East coast collectively educating over 13,500 children.

The Kalisher Trust is a legal charity which helps, encourages and inspires young people to achieve their potential through the development of positive advocacy skills.

To find more out about The Hart School, which is rated Good by Ofsted, telephone 01889 802440 or visit www.hartschool.org.uk.